[Clinical autopsy--its role in modern medicine]

At the beginning of the 21st century, pathology is dominated by the advent of new molecular techniques. Presently pathology transforms into a clinical discipline at the interface of diagnosis and therapy. In this context many physicians feel that clinical autopsies are out-dated. However, the autopsy has developed into a highly effective and meaningful tool which uses the whole array of contemporary molecular techniques ("molecular autopsy"). For the future one can expect that the clinical autopsy will remain a pivotal instrument for quality management, student teaching and continuous education, epidemiology (e.g. cancer registries) and research (e.g. for neurodegenerative diseases). By endorsing autopsies physicians show that they are open for self-criticism and have an interdisciplinary view of their profession. Since autopsies often reveal unexpected findings, which can be important for both the lives of other patients and for family members of the deceased, relatives saying yes to an autopsy show true compassion and human solidarity.