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Autopsy
The autopsy rotation is designed to provide a comprehensive exposure to all aspects of clinical and anatomic pathology. The main purpose is to make the resident proficient in the various techniques for performing an adequate medical autopsy in order to:
Discover or confirm the cause of death
Educate the residents in gross and microscopic pathology
Provide clinical and pathologic correlations
Approximately 100 autopsies are performed in our program annually between the Loyola University Health System and Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital. By performing a careful, thorough autopsy, the pathologist provides a useful service for clinicians as well as for patients' families. The autopsy is presently the best quality control available for the practice of medicine and is utilized as part of the hospital's quality assurance program.
The Medical Examiner's Office of Cook County offers a rotation of one month to the pathology residents of the Loyola University Medical Center. This rotation provides pathology residents with the basic knowledge in the area of medical-legal investigation. This office performs approximately 3,200 autopsies yearly. During this rotation, the resident learns how to handle medical-legal cases. The resident also accompanies the investigators to the death-scene investigation and to court. Lectures in Forensic Pathology are given on a weekly basis. The resident also attends the daily signing-out session.
Rachel Gordezky, MD
Assistant Professor
Director of Autopsy Service