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Medical examiner

A medical examiner is a public official who investigates deaths defined by law as being important to the public health and welfare. These generally include deaths thought to be from other than natural causes but also may include sudden and unexpected deaths determined later at autopsy to be from natural disease or deaths in people who were not under the immediate care of a doctor at the time of death.

Different from coroners, medical examiners must be doctors, most are appointed rather than elected, and many are certified in the specialty of forensic pathology and have expertise in the performance of autopsies.

Author Jeannette Curtis
Author Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor Tracy Landauer
Associate Editor Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer Patrice Burgess, MD
- Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer Adam Husney, MD
- Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer Kathleen Romito, MD
- Family Medicine
Last Updated May 25, 2007

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: May 25, 2007
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