National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 882 - 820: Negative Anatomy

Autopsy building.

In stepping out of the car, a hearse, a Soul Summoning Banner, and relatives in mourning attire were the first sights that greeted them.

Jiang Yuan and his companions, under local police protection, entered the hallway and saw several other family members clad in heavy mourning garb waiting inside.

The detectives exchanged looks, somewhat surprised. This not only indicated that the victim’s family was influential but also highlighted the keen interest the family had in the direction of the case.

Whether domestically or abroad, this element invariably increased the police’s feeling of pressure. No wonder Zhong Renlong had marked this case for special attention.

"Officer, are you going to perform an autopsy on Tang Shaokui?" An elderly man approached slowly, exuding a strong presence. novelbuddy.cσ๓

Zhong Renlong had no choice but to stop and quietly begin explaining.

Soon enough, the elder looked up at Jiang Yuan and said in fluent Chinese, "My son was in excellent health, enjoyed fitness and jogging, and usually dated two or three lovers; there’s no way he would just silently die in his sleep next to his wife at midnight."

With just a few words, the elder had voiced all the family’s suspicions and had inevitably influenced Jiang Yuan and his team.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the man but said nothing, continuing inside under the protection of the local police. However, even through the lens of a forensic doctor, the old man’s words carried a wealth of implications.

The victim was healthy enough to maintain relationships with multiple lovers, and at the time of his death, he was sharing a bed with his wife. Considering his affairs, the family was clearly pointing fingers at the deceased’s wife.

By the time they reached the autopsy table, the body had already been laid out flat. The corpse was unclothed, well-built, but made up with cosmetics, and cotton was stuffed into his ears.

Jiang Yuan looked at the body and then at Zhong Renlong...

"The deceased’s wife has requested cremation," Zhong Renlong said in Chinese.

"Does Dama also practice cremation?" Mu Zhiyang asked from aside.

"It’s optional, burial is also possible. Currently, the decision rests with the deceased’s wife," Zhong Renlong added without waiting for further questions. "On the day of the incident, the death occurred in the marital bed. According to our forensic judgment, the victim died two to three hours after falling asleep; however, although the cause of death is suspicious, the forensic doctor was unable to confirm any signs of homicide."

"Was the autopsy negative?" Jiang Yuan raised his eyebrows.

Zhong Renlong nodded. "We couldn’t determine the cause of death."

A negative autopsy, more accurately termed a negative dissection, refers to when a forensic doctor conducts systematic anatomical, histopathological, and physical, chemical, and biological examinations but still fails to find any lethal alterations.

For a forensic doctor, to prove fatal violence, traces of trauma must be found; to assert natural disease as the cause, primary diseases like mechanical injuries, mechanical asphyxiation, electrocution, thermal injuries, or exogenous poisoning must be evident. In any case, whether internal or external—torn, rotting, swollen, charred, or deteriorated—and whether twisted, blocked, knotted, or forming cavities, or even an abnormal peak in the Physical and Chemical Laboratory, death always leaves traces.

However, in practice, due to various reasons, some bodies indeed show no discernible cause of death, resulting in a genuinely negative dissection.

This situation would be considered a forensic mishap in any country. If possible, no forensic doctor would want to sign a report stating a negative autopsy because theoretically, most autopsies should reach a conclusion if examined thoroughly, deeply, and comprehensively—knowing the cause of death at the very least.

Yet on the other hand, if it’s truly undiscoverable, then it remains elusive, even though most negative dissections are still likely due to omissions—an embarrassing circumstance for forensic doctors. But given the limitations of ability, negative dissections inevitably occur and reflect reality.

Even some highly skilled forensic doctors might reluctantly sign off on a negative dissection in an autopsy report.

Moreover, it is often these skilled doctors who dare to finalize a report with a negative dissection.

Jiang Yuan glanced at Zhong Renlong, feeling that he wasn’t trying to set him up, but simply didn’t understand.

Most causes of death for bodies are not difficult to determine. Forensic pathology, in forensic practice, is the most frequently used and most mature technology. Comprehensive autopsies combined with the use of modern techniques rarely fail to determine a cause of death.

However, precisely because of this, when an ordinary forensic doctor concludes a negative autopsy, it is very difficult for an expert forensic doctor to time-travel and offer a positive conclusion—the difficulty of a second autopsy is even greater, as a once-examined body already represents complex and difficult cases.

Nevertheless, Jiang Yuan wasn’t required to sign off on the autopsy report, so he didn’t have additional burdens.

Zhong Renlong continued,

"The deceased lived in a villa on the outskirts of the city. The villa has three floors, and the couple lived in the master bedroom on the third floor. After the police received the report, the deceased had already been moved from the third floor to the living room, and two emergency doctors had arrived. They did not perform any resuscitation and confirmed the death twice."

"At five o’clock that afternoon, the forensic expert at the police station arrived at the scene and conducted a preliminary examination of the body at the family’s request..."

During the conversation, local forensic expert Jacob came out.

Jacob, in his fifties, still slight and dark in appearance, wore a cold yet strong British expression. Seeing Jiang Yuan, he unconsciously smiled, showing a few teeth to ensure that the other was certain that he was smiling.

During his studies in the United Kingdom, he had mastered forensic science and stoicism, as well as humility. He was as obsequious to his anatomy professor back then as he was humble to Jiang Yuan today.

During the previous live-streamed autopsy "Internet Celebrity Death Case," Jacob had a solid experience of Jiang Yuan’s capabilities. Afterwards, he reviewed the recording over and over.

Therefore, after a thorough analytical mulling, upon seeing Jiang Yuan again, Jacob smiled a much broader smile than usual, fearing Jiang Yuan might misinterpret his restrained grin.

"Oh, did Mr. Jacob perform the autopsy?" Jiang Yuan had a good impression of Jacob, almost Level 3 in forensic pathology, an expert in his domain, who also had a foundation in other areas. Among humans who didn’t cheat, he was excellent.

The fact that there had been a negative autopsy result with Jacob’s involvement furrowed Jiang Yuan’s brow.

Jacob, aware of Jiang Yuan’s thoughts, quickly said, "The first autopsy wasn’t done by me, but by my apprentice."

He led out a man not yet forty.

The man had deep nasolabial folds on the right side of his face. Speaking of this case, he looked greatly troubled, "After the autopsy, there were numerous pinpoint hemorrhages on the surface of the heart, the heart walls were filled with unclotted blood, there were patchy hemorrhages between the pleura and lobes, edema in the larynx, and otherwise essentially no substantive abnormalities..."

"The key is that toxicology testing didn’t detect common drugs," added Jacob.

"That is to say, there are minor injuries, but it’s very difficult to make further determinations," Jiang Yuan summarized.

Jacob and his apprentice relaxed a bit and nodded together.

Jacob said, "Currently, the conditions for presuming sudden death are not sufficient, and if it were homicide... the deceased’s wife spent the whole night in the same bed as him, claiming there were no unusual circumstances... The wife weighs 120 kilograms, and the deceased was a regular at the gym, weighing 170 kilograms. Fearfully, only poison could have been the killer."

"Let’s start with the external examination," Jiang Yuan couldn’t conjure results out of thin air, but if it were poison, toxicology testing was originally the gold standard.

However, toxicology testing is a comparative test. That is, one would first need samples from the deceased’s heart blood or other tissues, then run it through gas chromatography or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The resulting spectrum is placed in the database for automatic searching, the principle being somewhat similar to fingerprinting—not only are samples needed, but the database also needs to have the spectrum of the corresponding substance.

Many poisons, in fact, do not have a spectrum, like thallium poisoning, which the police would not test in the past, and many more biological agents might not even have standards. One often needs to identify the poison first, then make comparisons.

In such cases, the forensic approach is usually to find the pathway. The poison could have been ingested, inhaled, or injected. If this can be determined, it also provides clear guidance for the investigation—at least, it wouldn’t result in a negative autopsy.