[ noun ] an examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death or the changes produced by disease <noun.act>
Necropsy \Nec"rop*sy\, n. [Gr. nekro`s a dead body + ? sight: cf. F. n['e]cropsie.] (Med.) A post-mortem examination or inspection; an autopsy. See {Autopsy}.
A 12-hour necropsy was done to determine what caused the rhino to die.
A necropsy, the animal equivalent of an autopsy, was performed at the zoo Sunday, revealing advanced liver cancer, the spokesman said.
The dog was put to sleep and a necropsy showed the baby was killed before he was eaten, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner.
A necropsy on the 14-year-old Kandu revealed that she suffered an upper jaw fracture after striking Corky, a 25-year-old, 8,000-pound female killer whale.
No necropsy was scheduled but officials suspected the alligator died of pneumonia.
The larger whale died and its corpse was sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, where a necropsy will be performed.
A preliminary necropsy _ an animal autopsy _ showed that the whale, named Nicholas, died of pneumonia in the right lung and a failing immune system, spokeswoman Mary O'Herron said.