Necropsy organ weights are largely useless

Mar 1, 2000 Dr Barker is correct in his statement that the Royal College of Pathologists' publication Guidelines for Post Mortem Reports has led to improvements in necropsy reporting. 1 This is clearly evident within recent reports of the National Confidential Enquiry into Peri-operative Deaths (NCEPOD). There is an increasingly vocal body of opinion within the profession which disagrees with this requirement and the same audit of necropsy reporting in East Anglia provided useful data in relation to the sensible use of histology in necropsy practice. 5 Such evidence must be incorporated into any future national guidelines for necropsy practice in order that the guidelines reflect the views of most practising pathologists, rather than those of a few interested individuals who perform few, if any, necropsies.