future trends in medicolegal documentation pros and cons of virtopsy

Currently documentation of postmortem findings are based on centuries old autopsy techniques and protocol which includes dissection of cadaver, verbal description and conventional 2-dimensional photographs. Although in cases of alleged custodial deaths videography is recommended as per the National Human Rights Commission guidelines and done in addition to above procedures. These methods are highly subjective and sometimes are unable to fully elucidate the real picture. However with the aid ofCT-scan (catopsy), MRI and 3-D reconstruction techniques; post mortem pathological findings can be demonstrated easily and comprehensively to the lay person in the court room. For various reasons including lack of respect for the procedure on the part of doctors and relatives of the deceased trying their best to avoid the autopsy because of their religious belief; the autopsy rate is declining. Also because of their infrequency, autopsies no longer serve as an adequate teaching toolfor medical students whether undergraduate or postgraduate. Virtopsy or virtual autopsy is a method of documentation of postmortem findings with the help of CT-scan, MRI and post-processing techniques. This procedure is investigator independent, objective and noninvasive. It may even be used to screen the dead bodies before cremation because digitally stored data can be used at any time later to provide patho-anatomic details. Although debatable, in our opinion virtopsy has the potential to partially or under certain circumstances fully replace the traditional autopsy, with the advancement of scientific knowledge and facilities available. The paper gives an in-depth analysis about various pros and cons of using virtopsy as a tool in scientific investigation of a case of death.