No - in the majority of cases, visual identification is not required. If visual identification is required, you will be notified by the Medical Examiner's Office. back to top

Yes. Our office tries our best to accommodate family's wishes by letting Tennessee Donor Services have the body before we even begin our exam. In turn, Tennessee Donor Services has been very sensitive to our needs by preserving evidence and not operating in an area of the body that will be crucial to our examination/autopsy.

The family claiming the body should contact a funeral home of their choice. The funeral home will contact this office and make arrangements for the body to be picked up. Usually the body is available for release within a day of the death, however, the body may remain at Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office while the family is completing their arrangements. There is no pressure on the family to have a body removed.

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.

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.

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

Arizona law (ARS 11-593) requires that certain deaths be reported to OME. Upon the reporting of a death, a medical examiner investigator will determine whether jurisdiction will be accepted. If jurisdiction is accepted, the body will be transported to OME for autopsy or external examination. No. The Medical Examiner’s Office works closely with local organ and tissue procurement organizations to ensure that these anatomical gifts occur whenever possible.

No. In the vast majority of cases, identification has been confirmed prior to the arrival of the deceased at OME. Occasionally, we will request a family member to come to our facility when the remains are those of an unidentified person. Viewing of decedents at the Medical Examiner’s Office is reserved for those individuals whose identity has not yet been confirmed. Please contact the funeral home that you have selected to arrange for any other viewing.

Nearly all individuals are available for release within 24 – 48 hours after arrival. Occasionally, a body may need to be held longer than this to allow for additional forensic testing or for other special procedures necessary to confirm the identity of the deceased.

A Forensic Field Agent from OME or a contracted transport agent will retrieve the decedent from the scene of the death. The Medical Examiner pays directly for these services and it is not the responsibility of the family. First, you need to select a funeral home and notify the funeral director that the death is being handled by OME. The legal next-of-kin must also sign a release form at the funeral home authorizing OME to release the body to the selected funeral home.

The Medical Examiner's Office is not designed to handle bereaved relatives. Only in rare instances is viewing of the remains allowed on a limited basis. Arrangements for viewing should be made with your funeral director. back to top

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.

Our licensed storage facility is at the same location as our crematory: 1094 Yerba Buena Ave., Emeryville, CA 94608, Crematory License 58.

State legislation (RCW 68.08.010) authorizes the medical examiner to determine the cause of death and the circumstances of death in certain situations. These generally consist of unattended deaths, where the cause of death is not established or where the circumstances of the death indicate that death was caused by unnatural or unlawful means or death occurs under suspicious circumstances.

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.

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 medical examiner's office does not have the staff nor the facilities to prepare a body for viewing by the family. We understand you may wish to see the decedent as soon as possible. In consideration of this fact, we work with the funeral home of the families choice to expedite the release of the decedent for viewing purposes. You can then work directly with them to arrange the service. Rarely, a family member or acquaintance will be asked to make an identification of the decedent.

The Office of the Medical Examiner is located at 2825 E. District Street, Tucson, Arizona 85714 within the University Physicians Hospital-Kino Complex immediately south of the Abrams Public Health Center. The OME main telephone number is 520-243-8600.

Eventually the whole body is medically cremated after all studies are completed. However, only a partial amount of cremated remains are returned to the family within four (4) weeks of the donation for closure (the part of the body not used for medical research and education).