Abstract: Objective To analyze the significance of forensic autopsy in medical tangle. Methods Ninety autopsy cases of medical legal dispute were retrospectively analyzed from the database of our department from 2001 to 2008. All cases were analyzed and classified based on age, sex, cause of death, clinic diagnosis and forensic diagnosis. Results The age ranged from 1 day to 72 years, and the ratios of male to female is 1∶1. The most common healthcare facilities involved were county hospitals(30 cases, 33.33%). The coincidence rate between clinical diagnoses and pathological diagnoses was 33.33% . Conclusion The forensic autopsy is valuable to solve or even avoid the occurrence of medical legal dispute.

Key words: forensic pathology, autopsy, medical tangle