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What are provisional anatomical diagnoses in an autopsy report?
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autopsy
English physicians Charles Scarborough and Edward Arris performing an autopsy in 1651 (watercolour painted in 1818 by G.P. Harding from an original work in the Barber Surgeons' Hall, London).
In an autopsy, provisional anatomical diagnoses are a list of pathological findings compiled immediately following the gross examination of the body. These findings are balanced against one another and arranged in order of importance and sequence.
Because these diagnoses are considered tentative, they may be supplemented by quick microscopic studies to ensure accurate listing. Once all further investigations—such as histological, chemical, toxicological, bacteriological, and viral studies—are completed, any errors in the provisional diagnoses are corrected to establish the final anatomical diagnoses and the final cause of death.1