autopsy

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Examination of a cadaver to determine or confirm the cause of death. Also called necropsy, postmortem, postmortem examination.
2. n. A critical assessment or examination after the fact: a post-election campaign autopsy.
3. v. To subject to an autopsy.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A seeing for one's self; personal ocular observation, inspection, or examination. Specifically
2. n. In pathology and anatomy, dissection and inspection of a dead body to discover the cause of death, or the site and character of the disease of which the person died; post-mortem examination; a post-mortem.
3. To make a post-mortem examination of; perform an autopsy on.

Wiktionary

1. n. A dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible cause(s) of death.
2. n. An after-the-fact examination, especially of the causes of a failure.
3. v. transitive To perform an autopsy on.
4. v. transitive To perform an after-the-fact analysis of, especially of a failure.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Personal observation or examination; seeing with one's own eyes; ocular view.
2. n. (Med.) Dissection of a dead body, for the purpose of ascertaining the cause, seat, or nature of a disease; a post-mortem examination.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. perform an autopsy on a dead body; do a post-mortem
2. n. an examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death or the changes produced by disease