THIS IS the 30th and final installment in the Autopsy and Medicine "Case of the Month" series published in ARCHIVES since the first case report of August 1997. The Autopsy Committee of the College of American Pathologists is grateful to ARCHIVES Editor, James Dalen, MD, for providing the opportunity to reemphasize the value of the autopsy to the practice of medicine and to society.
In his editorial titled "The Moribund Autopsy: DNR or CPR?" Editor Dalen1 introduced the series and correctly pointed out the moribund condition of autopsy utilization in the United States in virtually all spheres but the medicolegal (forensic) one. He advocated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for the autopsy rather than letting the last several decades of declining autopsy rates and utilization let us relegate the autopsy to do not resuscitate (DNR) status. We agree with his recommendation, and we hope that this series has convinced others to think and act similarly.