POSTMORTEM

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does postmortem mean? 

• POSTMORTEM (noun)
  The noun POSTMORTEM has 2 senses:

1. discussion of an event after it has occurred

2. an examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death or the changes produced by disease

  Familiarity information: POSTMORTEM used as a noun is rare.

• POSTMORTEM (adjective)
  The adjective POSTMORTEM has 2 senses:

1. occurring or done after death

2. after death or after an event

  Familiarity information: POSTMORTEM used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POSTMORTEM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Discussion of an event after it has occurred

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

post-mortem; postmortem

Hypernyms ("postmortem" is a kind of...):

discussion; give-and-take; word (an exchange of views on some topic)

Derivation:

postmortal (occurring or done after death)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death or the changes produced by disease

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

autopsy; necropsy; PM; post-mortem; post-mortem examination; postmortem; postmortem examination

Hypernyms ("postmortem" is a kind of...):

examination; scrutiny (the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes))

• POSTMORTEM (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Occurring or done after death

Synonyms:

postmortal; postmortem

Context example:

postmortal wounds

Antonym:

antemortem (preceding death)

Sense 2

Meaning:

After death or after an event

Context example:

the postmortem discussion of the President's TV address

Similar:

succeeding (coming after or following)

 Context examples 

An indication that the test system (animal) could not be found, in which case, its disposition was not known, and no postmortem data was available.

(Missing Study Animal, NCI Thesaurus)

A postmortem examination of the body that includes an examination of the internal organs and structures after dissection to determine the cause of death and the nature of pathological changes.

(Autopsy, NCI Thesaurus)

Based on their studies in human postmortem brain, they developed a new strain of mice mimicking major features of human Alzheimer’s such as tau pathology, failing synapses, neuronal death and cognitive impairment.

(Compound prevents neurological damage, shows cognitive benefits in mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, National Institutes of Health)

Earlier studies of cortex organization often used just one measure, such as examining postmortem tissue with a microscope.

(Connectome map more than doubles human cortex’s known regions, NIH)

One of his laboratory team's immediate next steps is to look for rosehip neurons in postmortem brain samples from people with neuropsychiatric disorders to see if these specialized cells might be altered in human disease.

(Mysterious New Type of Human Brain Cell Discovered, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)