Iowa is fortunate to have a state medical examiner system. Each of the 99 counties has a County Medical Examiner appointed by their County Board of Supervisors. The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner provides them support, guidance, education, consultation, and training.

Medical examiners and coroners provide a similar service to their communities. Coroners are part of an older system with origins that date back to England many centuries ago. They are usually elected lay individuals who contract with physicians to provide autopsies and medical expertise to support their investigations. In contrast, the medical examiner system is an American creation approximately a century old.

A coroner is an elected official who may or may not have any training in death investigation or medicine. A Medical Examiner is a physician, a forensic pathologist, and in Snohomish County, a board certified forensic pathologist specifically trained in death investigation

This number varies from year to year. To find this information for the most recent year, see DAWN Mortality.

Tennessee law, or the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 38-7-108(a)(1), "Death under suspicious, unusual or unnatural circumstances," states, Any physician, undertaker, law enforcement officer, or other person having knowledge of the death of any person from sudden violence or by casualty or by suicide, or suddenly when in apparent health, or when found dead, or in prison, or in any suspicious, unusual, or unnatural manner, or where the body is to be cremated shall immediately notify the county med.

It is the coroner's responsibility to ascertain the cause of death. The vast majority of deaths that are reported to the coroner are discovered to be from natural causes - only a small proportion require further investigation. The coroner will conduct a post mortem examination of the deceased, which involves examination of the organs to ascertain the cause of the death.

A medical examiner is a doctor who has a medical degree and has specialized education and experience in the field of pathology and forensic pathology.

A County Medical Examiner (CMEs) is a physician licensed within the state of Iowa and appointed by their respective County Board of Supervisors to conduct investigations necessary to determine the cause and manner of death of individuals who die under violent, sudden, and unexpected circumstances (Iowa Code 331.801(3)). County Medical Examiner Investigators are trained death investigators who assist the CME in performing these duties.

The basic autopsy involves making a Y-incision (cutting across the midline of the chest and abdomen) and cutting along the top and sides of the head. Although the process sounds disfiguring, autopsy incisions are rarely noticeable after completion of the autopsy if the body is clothed.

The Coroner will take advice from the National Museum as to whether or not the item is Treasure and will hold an Inquest if necessary to determine the facts of the find and the nature of it. If the item is held to be Treasure then the National Museum may seek to claim it on behalf of the Crown.

The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner provides guidance and support to the County Medical Examiners who must investigate any and all violent, suspicious, and unexpected natural deaths that occur within their jurisdictions. The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner provides forensic autopsy, investigative, and consultative services when requested to do so by County Medical Examiner personnel.

Deaths that have an impact on the "public's interest". These types of death are outlined in Iowa Code chapter 331.802(3), and generally include: Violent deaths, which include homicide, suicide, or accidental death resulting from physical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, or radiation injury; Deaths related to disease thought to be virulent or contagious, which may constitute a public health hazard;

The Medical Examiner may take jurisdiction over an apparent natural death if the death was unexpected and no medical cause can be determined; if the decedent was not under the care of a physician for any disease, which could reasonably be expected to cause death; and if death might be due to a public health hazard. County Medical Examiners investigate and certify more than 2,000 deaths annually.

Alaska law requires the Medical Examiner to investigate the circumstances and determine the cause and manner of death of all deaths that are:

If you are a S.A. PPL holder looking for a S.A. approved AME, I maintain these contact details: S.A. AMEs in the UK. (If you know of any more, they can be added for free!) It's probably not as bad as you expect, You do need a test with an examiner, but any retraining is at your discretion providing it is not 5 years since the lapse. Re-training in these circumstances can be at an unlicensed airfield - I do it at Popham. See Training by Irv Lee.

The coroner must be notified in every case when a body is to be taken out of England and Wales (whether or not there has been an inquest), and four clear days are allowed for his or her reply, unless written permission is obtained sooner. There is no fee for this. When a body has been brought into England and Wales from another country the coroner may be able to give some help in finding the cause of death and may be required to hold an inquest.

The function of the jury is to find the facts required by the Coroners Act i.e. who the deceased was, how when and where the deceased met his/her death. The Coroner is responsible for deciding matters of law and procedure whilst the jury is responsible for determining the facts of the matter. You will swear an oath to "give a true verdict according to the evidence".