• argh_another_username@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      Actually, a long time ago, I was told it was supposed to be called necropsy also in humans. Necro = dead.

      Autopsy would mean you’re doing the exam on yourself.

      I don’t know why it stayed autopsy. Maybe it’s like “atom”, meaning “indivisible”.

        • paysrenttobirds@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          Greek autopsia “a seeing with one’s own eyes,”

          So I guess it works regardless of species. Though I’m not sure I believe this. Like how else did ancient Greeks see?

        • argh_another_username@lemmy.ca
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          3 months ago

          That’s a nice interpretation!

          So, I did a simple search (autopsy vs necropsy) and the first three links gave me three different answers! First said they’re synonyms. Second simple said autopsy is for humans and necropsy is for animals. Now, the third one gave your interpretation. Autopsy is for humans because it’s the same species.

          • Boxscape@lemmy.sdf.org
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            3 months ago

            Now, the third one gave your interpretation. Autopsy is for humans because it’s the same species.

            Hmm, that seems kind of inconsistent with auto as a prefix elsewhere. E.g., autofellatio, autoimmune, autobiography. It’s auto because it’s yourself, not another member of the same species.

            Though there’s also autocrat, which seemingly is on its own and not referring to membership or self.

            • otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              3 months ago

              Autocracy means “absolute rule by one”, by “autocrator” (auto+kratos) to describe the Roman Emperor (n. Latin “imperator”), but is from multiple origins at this point. 🖖🏼

    • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 months ago

      Yeah but most people don’t know that and if they phrased it that way it spoils the joke where details keep getting revealed one by one and it gets worse

      • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        It helps differentiating between doing it on humans and animals. And sometimes you want to know what killed an animal too.