How fading practice of autopsy revealed secrets of Covid-19 and found a revival
How fading practice of autopsy revealed secrets of Covid-19 and found a revival
Early autopsies of deceased patients confirmed the coronavirus does not just cause respiratory disease, but can also attack other vital organs. They also led doctors to try blood thinners in some Covid-19 patients and reconsider how long others should be on ventilators.
advertisement
The Covid-19 pandemic has helped revive the autopsy. (AP photo)
The Covid-19 pandemic has helped revive the autopsy.
When the virus first arrived in US hospitals, doctors could only guess what was causing its strange constellation of symptoms: What could explain why patients were losing their sense of smell and taste, developing skin rashes, struggling to breathe and reporting memory loss on top of flu-like coughs and aches?
Marion Renault
NEW YORK - The COVID-19 pandemic has helped revive the autopsy.
When the virus first arrived in U.S. hospitals, doctors could only guess what was causing its strange constellation of symptoms: What could explain why patients were losing their sense of smell and taste, developing skin rashes, struggling to breathe and reporting memory loss on top of flu-like coughs and aches?
At hospital morgues, which have been steadily losing prominence and funding over several decades, pathologists were busily dissecting the diseaseâs first victims â and finding some answers.
âWe were getting emails from clinicians, kind of desperate, asking, âWhat are you seeing?ââ said NYU Langoneâs Dr. Amy Rapkiewicz. âAutopsy,â she pointed out, means to see for yourself. âThatâs exactly what we had to do.â
The Autopsy, a Fading Practice, Reveals Secrets of COVID-19 Autopsies have shaped our understanding of what COVID-19 does to the body and how we might combat it By Marion Renault •
Updated on December 24, 2020 at 1:06 am
NBCUniversal Media, LLC
The COVID-19 pandemic has helped revive the autopsy.
When the virus first arrived in U.S. hospitals, doctors could only guess what was causing its strange constellation of symptoms: What could explain why patients were losing their sense of smell and taste, developing skin rashes, struggling to breathe and reporting memory loss on top of flu-like coughs and aches?
At hospital morgues, which have been steadily losing prominence and funding over several decades, pathologists were busily dissecting the disease’s first victims and finding some answers.