 |
The following material was imported from https://web.archive.org/web/20160430192735/http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cthulhu/. |
Jamie Revell created autopsy reports for several different mythos species. These, and his guide to autopsy vocabulary, are archived here. See also Autopsy discussion
The Autopsy
Autopsies are called 'post mortems' in the UK. I've used the US term on this page, since most readers are likely to be American.
- Autopsy of a Byakhee ("Winged Servitor")
- Autopsy of a Dark Young ("Haedi Nigritiae")
- Autopsy of a Deep One Hybrid
- Autopsy of a Deep One (Lesser)
- Autopsy of a Ghoul
- Autopsy of a Grey
- Autopsy of a Sand Dweller
The fictional autopsies described on this site are more thorough than a typical real-world one would be, since I have assumed that the researchers would want to look in great detail at what is after all, a rather unusual cadaver. These notes can be read in conjunction with the individual autopsy reports, and provide some hints as to what PCs can expect to learn, and how long it would take them.
For comparison, the normal weights for bodily organs in a human adult are:
- Heart - 280-340g (men), 230-280g (women)
- Lungs - around 550g each, with the right lung being heavier than the left
- Liver - around 1/40 of the total body weight
- Spleen - very variable, generally about 170g
- Kidneys - around 140g each
- Brain - 1.2 to 1.7 kg, becoming progressively smaller past the age of 20
- Histopathology & other tests
Histopathology is the examination of tissues under the microscope to determine the presence and cause of diseases. Histopathology generally deals with living patients (especially in the diagnosis of cancer) but is also employed in some autopsy cases. The basic test consists of preserving the tissue sample in formaldehyde solution, dehydrating it, embedding it in wax, cutting 3-5 micron sections (1 micron = 1/1000 mm) from it, then staining the sections with haematoxylin and eosin ('H&E') before examining them under a microscope to make a diagnosis.
This process generally takes 2 days to complete, but it can be quicker or slower depending on factors such as the size of the specimen. Preparing large, high quality sections of brain tissue can take weeks, although simple diagnoses may require only 3-4 days. Examination of bone tissue may take a week or longer, unless particularly expensive equipment is available.
Immunocytochemistry and tinctorial staining can add another day, and is used to determine chemical constituents of the tissue or to distinguish between tissue components of similar microscopic appearance. Ultrastructural examination requires an electron microscope and takes around a week. Cytogenetics requires a specialist laboratory, and is used to detect chromosomal abnormalities - more detailed genetic mutations would normally only be detectable if you knew exactly what to look for.
As a result of all this, player characters may not get the full picture from an autopsy for some time after the actual dissection and examination is carried out. However, the majority of autopsies would not require any histopatholgical examination, which is commonly reserved for possible diagnoses of cancer or similar diseases. However, if one were conducting an examination of something quite so unusual as a Deep One, such additional tests would certainly be made.
1920s Pathology
Pathological knowledge was more limited in the 1920s, although the actual dissection is much the same. Understanding of the true function of the endocrine system was more limited, and relatively little was known of the immune system. Histopathology took longer than today, perhaps adding another day onto the process. Immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy and cytogenetics did not exist.
Glossary
The following terms are used in various places in the documents (I make no apologies for my use of British spellings!):
Acellular - not containing cells
Adipose - fatty
Adrenal gland - endocrine gland situated on top of the kidneys (also called 'suprarenal gland')
Ameloblast - type of cell which secretes the outer part of the tooth
Anterior chamber - the part of the eyeball in front of the lens.
Atrium - upper chamber of the heart
Atrophic - atrophied; shrunken and wasted
Auricle - earlobe
Barr body - a cytogenetic structure associated with the second X-chromosome in female mammals, and absent in males
Basophilic - a histological property of certain cells
Bilaterally - on both sides
Brachycephalic - having a broad head
Caecum - the part of the colon below the junction with the small intestine, to which the appendix is attached.
Cerebellum - a large structure near the back of the brain, below the cerebrum
Cerebrum - the upper, outer part of the brain, particularly enlarged in humans
Chitin - the tough material of which insect and crustacean exoskeletons are made
Coccyx - the 'tail bone' at the base of the vertebral column
Collagen - the protein fibres of which connective tissue is largely composed
Columnar epithelium - a layer of tall cells
Corpus luteum (pl. corpora lutea) - structure in the ovary, secreting sex hormones
Cortex (adj. cortical) - the outer layer of an organ
Cuboidal epithelium - a layer of cube-shaped cells
Cycloid - (of fish scales) smooth and rounded
Cytoplasm - the contents of a cell that lie outside the nucleus
Dendrite - extensions of a nerve cell through which messages enter the cell
Dendritic - (of a cell) having multiple branch-like extensions
Dermal - associated with the skin
Distal - towards the rear end
Dorsal - the upper surface (or back of a humanoid torso)
Efferent - leading outward
Elastin - an elastic protein found in easily stretchable connective tissue.
Endometrium - the lining of the womb
Enucleate - (of a cell) lacking a nucleus, as in a human red blood cell
Epidermis - the outer layer of the skin
Epithelium - layer of cells
Exophthalmic - having protruding eyeballs
Exsanguination - blood loss
Fibrosis - overgrowth of fibrous tissue
Fibula - the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg
Fundus - the uppermost part of the stomach
Graafian follicle - structure in the ovary, containing an egg cell
Hepatic flexure - the upper left hand 'corner' of the colon
Homogenous - similar throughout
Hyperkeratosis - thickening of the horny outer layer of the skin
Hypertrophy - overgrowth of a body part
Hypothalamus - a part of the brain, located on its underside
Hypotrophy - undergrowth of a body part
Integument - the outer covering of an organism (usually either skin or an exoskeleton)
Isodont - (of teeth) all similar in shape
Keratinisation - becoming composed of/covered with horny material (adj. keratinous)
Larynx - the top of the windpipe, containing the vocal cords
Loop of Henlé - part of the nephron (q.v.)
Longitudinal - length-ways
Lumen (adj. luminal) - the inner cavity of an organ such as the bowel
Macroscopic - visible to the naked eye
Manus - forefoot (i.e. what would be the hand on a human)
Mediastinal - lying between the lungs
Medulla - the inner layer of an organ
Meninges - the protective outer lining of the brain
Mesothelium - the lining of a body cavity
Mucosa - the inner lining of an organ such as the bowel
Muscularis mucosae - a layer in the gut wall
Myelin - a fatty substance serving as an insulator for nerve fibres
Nephron - the structure in the kidney which produces urine
Oestrus - period of sexual activity in most mammals; 'heat'
Oocytes - egg cells
Osteoblast - type of cell which secretes bone material
Oxyphil cells - type of cell found in the parathyroid glands
Papilla - small protuberance
Pericardium - the mesothelium (q.v.) surrounding the heart
Pes - hindfoot
Pharynx (adj. pharyngeal) - throat
Phylum - a major group of animals, such as arthropods, molluscs and chordates (vertebrates)
Pituitary - endocrine gland at the base of the brain
Pleura - the mesothelium (q.v.) surrounding the lungs
Plexus - intricate network
Prognathous - having a projecting jaw
Proximal - towards the front end
Pterygium - the membrane which forms the wing of a bat or similar creature
Pyloric valve - the sphincter between the stomach and the small intestine
Reactive changes - (of a lymph node) enlargement caused by a response to infection
Reticular - forming a network
Rugae (sing. ruga, adj. rugose) - folds or wrinkles
Rumen - the part of a ruminant's stomach within which vegetable matter is fermented
Sacrum - part of the spinal column at the back of the pelvis, above the coccyx
Sclera - the outer coat of the back part of the eye, forming the 'whites' where visible
Sebaceous glands - glands in the skin which produce a water-proof secretion
Septum (pl. septae) - partition
Serosa - the outer lining of an organ such as the bowel (i.e. that in contact with body cavity)
Sigmoid colon - the lower right hand part of the colon, just before the rectum
Situs solitus - in the normal place, and normal in size and shape
Spatulate - having thickened, rounded ends
Spicule - a small, spiky, structure
Splenic flexure - the upper right hand 'corner' of the colon
Somatic chromosome - any chromosome other than a sex chromosome; humans have 44 somatic chromosomes
Squamous epithelium - a layer of flattened cells, either simple (single) or stratified (several layers)
Stellate - star-shaped
Stenosis - narrowing
Stratum corneum - the outermost part of the epidermis
Stroma - the connective tissue inside an organ, within which other structures are embedded
Submucosa - the layer of connective tissue beneath the mucosa (q.v.)
Sulcus (pl. sulci) - the grooves in the surface of the brain
Tarsus (pl. tarsi) - ankle
Thorax - chest region
Thrombosis - blood clot lodged in a vessel
Thymus - endocrine organ in the upper chest, becomes degenerate in adults
Tibia - the larger of the two bones in the lower leg
Toroid - doughnut shaped
Ultrastructural - only visible under an electron microscope
Ureter - one of the ducts through which urine leaves the kidneys and enters the bladder
Urethra - the duct through which urine leaves the body
Vas deferens (pl. vasa deferentia) - duct from the testicles (cut during a vasectomy)
Ventral - the lower surface (or front of a humanoid torso)
Viviparous - giving birth to live young, such as in placental mammals