中华医学杂志（英文版）2011，Vol.124Issue(20)：3403-3407,5.DOI:10.3760/cma.j.issn.0366-6999.2011.20.035
Fluctuations in the rate of autopsy in China
Fluctuations in the rate of autopsy in China
摘要
Abstract
Autopsy has played a unique role in the progression of clinical medicine,medical education,epidemiology,and public health.However,the autopsy rate has been decreasing during the past several decades worldwide,and its necessity is frequently argued.Autopsy-based research in China,a country with the world's largest population,is very important for studying the spectrum and epidemiology of diseases as well as for discovering new diseases.This article summarizes the brief history of autopsy in China and analyzes the cause of its decline in recent decades by reviewing previously published papers,review articles,self-collected materials,and private correspondence.Since the first officially permitted autopsy in 1913,China witnessed the highest autopsy rate between 1950 and 1970,and since then the autopsy rate began to decline as it in other parts of the world.The main reasons for the reduction in autopsy rates in China include negligence by hospital administrators and relevant government authorities,unmotivated clinicians,helpless pathologists,unenforceable regulations and laws,and local cultures and customs.关键词
autopsy/health policy/pathologyKey words
autopsy/health policy/pathology引用本文复制引用
ZHU Ming-hua,YU Dang-hui..Fluctuations in the rate of autopsy in China[J].中华医学杂志（英文版）,2011,124(20):3403-3407,5.基金项目
We thank Prof.CHEN Jie (Department of Pathology,Peking Union Hospital,Beijing),Prof.ZHENG Jie (Department of Pathology,Peking University,Beijing),Prof.DING Yan-qing (Department of Pathology,Southern Hospital,Guangzhou),Prof.ZHOU Ren (Department of Pathology,Medical College of Zhejiang University,Hangzhou),Prof.LI Bing (Changzheng Hospital,Shanghai),and Prof.CHENG Hong (Department of Pathology,Xijing Hospital,Xi'an) for providing the data of their hospitals.We also thank Prof.TAN Dong-feng,Department of Pathology,University of Texas,USA for his suggestions on the manuscript. （Department of Pathology,Peking Union Hospital,Beijing）
