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medical examiner

medical examiner

76 4.3
A doctor who finds the cause of unexpected or violent deaths by examining the body
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛdɪkəl ɪɡˈzæmɪnər/
  • Formal
translation icon : médico forense
  • The family was anxious to hear the medical examiner's findings regarding their loved one's death.
  • state medical examiner
  • county medical examiner
  • medical examiner said

If you find stuff before the Emmy gets there, the medical examiner, take your pictures, document everything.

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Examples

  • At that hearing, the assistant state medical examiner testified that X-rays indicated two bullets remained in the brain.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The young man, Frank Russo, had been dead for 3 days according to the medical examiner.

  • We are waiting on the medical examiner, but you can identify the body.

  • How experienced is your medical examiner?

  • The medical examiner sent this over.

  • We're gonna have to notify the medical examiner... and they may request an autopsy.

  • The first shot in this case had been instantly fatal, the medical examiner had concluded.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The other reason I'm here is to tell you the medical examiner's ready to release Mrs. Klein's body.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The medical examiner conducted an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

  • After the accident, the medical examiner investigated the scene for evidence.

Synonyms

coroner
vsmedical examiner
256 6.7

An official who investigates sudden or unexplained deaths

is a medically trained official who conducts autopsies and inquests
crowner
vsmedical examiner
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An old name for an official who investigates unexplained deaths

is the modern medically trained official who investigates such deaths

How Specialized

forensic pathology
  • Specialized
2 5.5
medical examiner
  • Formal
76 4.3
coroner
256 6.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

medical + examiner

The meaning is compositionally predictable: 'medical' (relating to medicine) combined with 'examiner' (someone who inspects or evaluates) yields a person who examines medical matters. Although the role is a specialized forensic/legal function (investigating certain deaths), that specific professional sense is inferable from the constituents and the adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically transparent for learners.

Etymology

Medical examiner comes from the simple idea of a medical person, meaning a doctor, who is an examiner of dead bodies to find why someone died. So, it means 'an official doctor who investigates deaths'.