Host of HBO's "Autopsy"

HBO presents

March 11, 2001

Dr. Michael Baden, host of HBO's "Autopsy," is one of the world's foremost forensic pathologists. He's been an expert witness in cases ranging from the death of John Belushi to the family of Tsar Nicholas of Russia, and in criminal cases including the trials of O.J. Simpson and Claus Von Bulow.

Page 1 of 6

HBO Autopsy: Welcome to HBO's chat with Dr. Michael Baden. Dr. Baden has over forty years' experience as a forensic pathologist and is ready to answer your questions.

Dr. Baden: Hello. Thank you for logging in. I'd be glad to try to answer any questions you might have.

Quizz It: Can you give a brief narrative account of a routine postmortem examination?

Dr. Baden: A postmortem examination or autopsy consists of a detailed external examination of the body with the naked eye, and of any clothing that might be present on the body. A search for trace evidence that would be identified, documented verbally and by photographs. And then a detailed internal examination of the body, examining all of the body organs for any abnormalities that might be present, and that might contribute to understanding what caused the death, and what findings might be of value in providing information as to who may have caused it.

Linda Lou: What is the most interesting case you have ever worked on?

Dr. Baden: By its very nature, the three most interesting cases I've been involved with have to do with their historical importance. Back in the late 1970s I was the forensic pathologist in charge of the pathology investigation into the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations. Certainly that was the most significant professional involvement I've ever had. More recently, in 1992, I did go to Russia, in Siberia, at the request of the then-Russian government and the State Department, with a team of pathologists to examine the remains of Czar Nicholas, Alexandra, and the remains of the Romanoff family, to determine the cause of death.

Yesky: Would you please explain the term "Running the gut"?

Dr. Baden: "Running the gut" is a type of slang term during an autopsy that refers to the dissection of the intestinal tract, whereby a special scissors is used to start at the beginning of the intestines, the duodenum, and continues in one continuous motion through about 30 feet of intestine to open the small and large intestines lengthwise. And that's called, by some, "Running the gut."

Linda Lou: How do you keep an emotional detachment from cases? Is it difficult?

Dr. Baden: The emotional detachment isn't that difficult, because it isn't the death that's so upsetting, but the act of dying. I was much more emotionally upset as a medical student, intern and resident at Bellevue Hospital, treating patients dying slowly of cancer, than I am when examining someone who is out of his or her pain and misery, at the autopsy. I do get more emotionally involved with children, because of their innocence of what has happened to them, and because of relating to my own children.

Shell: With the front of the rib cage and all major organs removed, how is the body prepped to be suitable for a viewing by the family?

Dr. Baden: The autopsy consists of two major incisions, one through the chest and abdomen, to permit viewing of all the chest and abdominal organs, and a second through the incision at the back of the head, between the ears, to permit viewing of the brain. When these incisions are stitched up by mortuary personnel, one can not see the incisions when the body is dressed and laid in the funeral parlor.

Page 1 of 6