1.
forensic autopsy; judicial autopsy; medico-legal autopsy
An autopsy ordered by a court or prosecutor to determine the cause of death in cases involving suspected crime or unnatural death. Performed by a forensic pathologist as part of a criminal investigation.
As a result of the forensic autopsy, the cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation.
A compound of 司法 (judicial, legal) and 解剖 (dissection, autopsy). In Japan, 司法解剖 requires a warrant from a judge and is specifically for criminal investigations, unlike 行政解剖 (administrative autopsy) which does not require a warrant.
A common term in crime news, detective fiction, and legal dramas.
Common collocations
- 司法解剖を行う: to perform a forensic autopsy
- 司法解剖の結果: results of the forensic autopsy
- 司法解剖を依頼する: to request a forensic autopsy
- 司法解剖で死因を特定する: to determine cause of death through forensic autopsy
Similar words
- 行政解剖: administrative autopsy — autopsy for non-criminal unnatural deaths
- 病理解剖: pathological autopsy — autopsy to study disease, performed in hospitals
- 解剖: autopsy, dissection — the general term