Manner of death

Manner of death classifies a death as natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined. It describes the circumstances surrounding death, not the medical cause.

Mechanism of death: The physiological process through which a cause of death produces death. A mechanism such as blood loss is distinct from the manner assigned to the death.
Death investigation: The official inquiry into the circumstances, cause, and manner of a death. This broader process gathers the evidence used to assign a manner.
Homicide: A manner-of-death classification in which another person caused the death, whether or not a crime occurred. It is one of the standard manners and does not itself establish criminal guilt.
Cause of death certification: The formal medical determination and recording of the disease or injury responsible for a death. Certification of cause names the lethal condition; manner classifies the surrounding circumstances.
Unexplained death: A death whose cause or circumstances remain unresolved after investigation. Some unresolved cases receive an undetermined manner when evidence cannot settle the classification.
Death certificate: An official record documenting a person's death and its certified details. It commonly records the cause and manner determined by the certifier.
Autopsy: A systematic examination of a body after death to determine or clarify medical findings. An autopsy can reveal injuries or disease relevant to the manner classification.
Suicide: A manner-of-death classification for a death caused by the person's own intentional act. It is assigned when evidence supports self-inflicted death with intent to die.
Criminal homicide: An unlawful killing defined by the criminal law of a jurisdiction. A homicide manner is a medical-legal classification and does not necessarily mean a crime occurred.
Sudden unexplained death: A sudden death for which an investigation does not establish an adequate cause. Even extensive examination may leave the cause—and therefore manner—uncertain.

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