Background: The post mortem external examination is the final service that a physician can render to a patient. Its purpose is not just to establish medical diagnoses, but to provide facts in the service of the judicial process and the public interest. Its main tasks are the definitive ascertainment of death, determination of the cause of death and assessment of the manner of death.

Methods: Selective search and review of relevant literature on cause-of-death statistics, judicial principles, and the performance of the post mortem examination, with emphasis on determination of the cause and manner of death.

Results and discussion: An important duty of the physician performing the post mortem external examination is to know the patient's history. Thus, in principle, the treating physician is the most suitable person to perform the post mortem examination. In most cases of death (perhaps 60% to 70%), the treating physician will be able to give reliable information on the patient's underlying illnesses and the cause of death, based on the patient's history and circumstances at the time of death. Problems arise when death is unexpected and the post mortem external examination alone does not suffice to establish the cause of death. If the cause of death cannot be determined, this fact should be documented, and the manner of death should likewise be documented as undetermined. The autopsy rate in Germany is less than 5% of all deaths, which is very low.