What is a medical examiner assistant?

A medical examiner assistant helps the medical examiner in performing autopsies to determine the cause of death. Duties of the medical examiner assistant are to prepare the autopsy room, provide the necessary specimen containers and aid the pathologist with the autopsy.

Assisting with the autopsy may entail such tasks as weighing organs, taking notes, taking pictures of the body and suturing. Completion of a certificate or an associate degree in a field such as funeral science or biology, with a basic understanding of anatomy and medical labs, prepares a person for this career. Forensic autopsy technician is an alternate title for this job.