Fig. 2

Components of different types of perinatal autopsy. A ‘less invasive autopsy’ (LIA) is an umbrella term for all procedures that use imaging instead of dissection for internal examination at autopsy. Where tissue sampling is also performed in a less invasive way (e.g. image-guided biopsy or laparoscopically assisted biopsy), the study is referred to as a ‘minimally invasive autopsy’ (MIA). Where no incisions are made to the body, and only imaging is acquired, this is termed a ‘non-invasive autopsy’ (NIA) [6]