Currently under the supervision of the Dept. of Mental Health, Danvers State Hospital and its predecessors have been responsible for providing residential care and treatment of mentally ill persons in northeastern Massachusetts since 1878. The pathology staff conducted autopsies of patients who died while at the hospital to determine cause of death and/or to research causes of mental illness, creating these reports. Information in reports includes information autopsy no.; inpatient registration no.; name (omitted in earlier records); age; date of death; date of autopsy and by whom performed; summary of medical and psychological history; general description of body at time of death followed by detailed reports of the examination of body cavities and organs, including heart, lungs, and brain; histological and anatomical diagnosis; in some cases clinical and pathological diagnosis. Some reports contain sketches of organs examined or photographs of cadavers or sections of organs removed. Autopsies conducted in later years appear to be more thorough. Also included are abstracts of autopsies 1-2000, for 1879-1917. Copies of autopsy reports may also be found in: Inpatient case files, 1878-1930 ((M-Ar)253). See also: Autopsy bacteriology test results, 1906-1912 ((M-Ar)1011X)
