Autopsy Service

General Information:

A request for autopsy should be made in every hospital death. The Autopsy Service is charged with providing timely and accurate postmortem examinations for the benefit of patients' families, the institution, the attending physicians and house staff.

Autopsy Hours:

Autopsies are performed between 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. For an autopsy to commence, the body, the permit and the chart or a Clinician knowledgeable about the case must be available during these hours.

Permission for Autopsy:

All autopsies require a completed "Permission for Autopsy" form before the procedure can be performed (obtainable from the Decedent Affairs Office). A surgical consent form cannot be substituted.  Hospital autopsies are performed only with the permission of the appropriate individual based on Virginia Statute.

Outside Autopsies:

Outside cases are those in which the patient has never been admitted to or seen as a patient in the University of Virginia Health System. In instances in which a UVA or outside physician, with the family's permission, is requesting an autopsy on a non-UVA patient, or in which the patient is part of a research project program in connection with the University of Virginia, the outside hospital or family may contract with the Department of Pathology to provide autopsy services. Approval for contracted outside cases must be obtained from the Director of the Autopsy Service before arrangements can be made through the Autopsy Office. The Department of Pathology does not contract for medical-legal autopsy cases.

Autopsy Turnaround Time:

Upon receiving permission for autopsy, the Decedent Affairs Office should be notified that permission has been obtained.  A provisional anatomic diagnosis based on the gross examination will be available within two working days of the autopsy date and a final report including histologic analysis will be available within 60 working days.