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postmortem

postmortem

1 7.2
Happening after someone has died, often about an exam to find the cause
  • adjective
  • /poʊstˈmɔrtəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : postmortem
  • Whole brains were removed from 12 horses at postmortem examination.
  • postmortem examination

Examples

  • They examined all medicolegal death cases in Finland in which pregabalin or gabapentin was found in postmortem toxicology during 2010-2011.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Three additional deployed dogs without radiographic changes (a Doberman, a German Shepherd, and a German Shepherd cross) were diagnosed on postmortem examination with degenerative cardiomyopathy.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Brain death and postmortem organ donation are closely linked.

    Academic text (2018)
  • This study showed both agreement and some regional differences regarding practices around brain death and postmortem organ donation.

    Academic text (2018)
  • There was a trickle from the left one also, and postmortem lividity was already starting in the parts of the face he could see.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • No control dogs had either radiographic or postmortem evidence of cardiac abnormalities.

    Academic text (2010)
  • One of the deployed dogs with right-sided cardiomegaly was a Doberman cross that developed cardiomyopathy, which was confirmed on postmortem examination.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Five randomly selected birds from the control group were also slaughtered at 5 and 10 days post-infection, but no gross lesions were seen on postmortem examination.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The doctor conducted a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death.

  • During the postmortem, the pathologist discovered evidence of a previous heart attack.

Synonyms

postmortal
vspostmortem
9.9

Happening after a person dies

is used for events after death especially for examinations to find cause

Antonyms

antemortem
  • Specialized
9.9

Happening before someone dies

Compounds

A medical check that cuts open a dead body to find the cause of death

Surface Forms

postmortem positive

Morphology

postmortem = mortem (semi-transparent) = post + mortem

The prefix 'post-' clearly means 'after', but 'mortem' is a Latin combining form rather than a common standalone English word, so learners may only partially infer the meaning.

Etymology

Postmortem comes from the Latin parts post- 'after' and mortem 'death', the same root as mortal. So as an adjective it simply describes something that happens after a person has died.