Postmortem Procedures

A postmortem exam is required to be completed and documented IAW TB MED 283 as soon as possible after death.4 Utilize photo documentation and postmortem advanced imaging (if available) with all interventions in place to document injury patterns to improve MWD trauma readiness and outcomes. The body should be kept refrigerated (not frozen) until the postmortem exam can be performed.

Collect representative samples of major organs and tissues that are obviously abnormal or traumatized and preserve with 10% buffered formalin if the postmortem exam is delayed. In austere environments where formalin may not be readily available, highly concentrated ethanol solutions will provide a suitable, field expedient preservative.4