There is a saying, "Postmortem examination is an art of disease diagnosis, and the information we get is the message from the dead to the living.” A postmortem examination is called the examination of the dead body by systemic dissection, recording of gross pathological lesions, and their correlation with history to diagnose a disease. The synonym used for postmortem examinations is necropsy in animals. It is not always possible to make a conclusive diagnosis based on postmortem examination. For conclusive diagnosis, materials are to be collected for further laboratory analysis. Postmortem examination, which is performed to determine the probable cause(s) of death (along with additional laboratory tests for confirmatory diagnosis), can aid in selecting the appropriate treatment for other animals within the herd/flock. Postmortem is an integral part of a disease investigation. Postmortem examination assumes significant importance in the context of veterol-egal cases and claims settlement for insured animals. Postmortem also helps to advance scientific knowledge in various areas of research and development.

The objective of this article is to highlight the importance of postmortem examination and challenges faced by field veterinarians in India and to guide veterinarians on precautions to be taken along with a link to available resources on postmortem techniques, steps in postmortem examination, determina