Autopsy Topic Center

Access the following resources to improve performance and reporting.

• Adult Autopsy Reporting Protocol (PDF)
• Adult Autopsy Reporting Protocol (Word)
• Resident Competency in Autopsy Pathology Checklist (PDF)
• Guide for Requesting Autopsies (PDF)
• Sample Autopsy Consent and Authorization Form (PDF)
• Guidelines for Cooperation Between Pathologists and Funeral Professions (PDF)
• Updating Normal Organ Weights Using a Large Current Sample Database Arch Pathol Lab Med 2022 
  • Reference Organ Weight Tables and Charts (PDF)

The Autopsy Pathology Program (AUP) offers pathologists the opportunity to obtain 12.5 hours of continuing medical education (CME) per year while developing and maintaining proficiency in autopsy pathology.Each case includes case description, gross and/or microscopic images, and case discussion with sample death certificate, key teaching points, and current references. Laboratories and pathologists may enroll in the AUP program via the CAP estore.

Subscribers and residents may share interesting cases with the greater pathology community by participating as an author for this program. Learn how to submit an autopsy case.

The autopsy fee-for-service list consists of members of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) who expressed an interest in performing autopsies on a fee-for-service basis.

Member pathologists must log in to access the request form if you want to include your information on the list. The list is a service to members of the public seeking a pathologist to perform an autopsy.

The CAP Public Policies outline the CAP's positions on the following issues:

• Criteria for Autopsies
• Restrictions on the Uses of Autopsy Materials
• Payment and Performance of the Autopsy Service
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Certification of Death
• Observation of an Autopsy as Punishment
• Informed Consent for Autopsy
• Consent for Autopsy Organ and Tissue Retention
• Definition of Autopsy

• Accounting for the Professional Work of Pathologists Performing Autopsies
• Pathologist Effort in the Performance of Fetal, Perinatal, and Pediatric Autopsies
• Small Patients, Complex Challenging Cases: A Reappraisal of the Professional Efforts in Perinatal Autopsies
• Confirmation of Cause and Manner of Death Via a Comprehensive Cardiac Autopsy Including Whole Exome Next-Generation Sequencing
• The Pediatric Autopsy in Africa
• Perinatal Pathologic Examination of Nonintact, Second-Trimester Fetal Demise Specimens
• A Team-Based Approach to Autopsy Education
• Who Will Do My Autopsy?

The following publications are available through the CAP Press Publications.

• Special Autopsy Dissections
  
• Introduction to Autopsy Technique, Step-by-Step Diagrams
• Autopsy Performance and Reporting, 3rd Edition
• Cause of Death and the Death Certificate
• Autopsy: Aiding the Living By Understanding Death
• Quality Management in Anatomic Pathology: Strategies for Assessment, Improvement, and Assurance

Learn more about our committee activities and how to join the Autopsy Committee.

- Login and CAP Membership Required.