medical examiner

noun

: a usually appointed public officer whose duties are similar to those of a coroner but who is typically required to have specific medical training (as in pathology) and is qualified to conduct medical examinations and autopsies

Examples of medical examiner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But only last week was her death determined to be a homicide after the city medical examiner made the finding in an autopsy that was initially inconclusive. —Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 16 Feb. 2025

The medical examiner noted in the Jan. 23 autopsy report that a bullet entered the right side of her chest and exited on the left side of her back. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2025

Other conditions were listed as contributing factors in the medical examiners report, including hypertensive cardiovascular disease and morbid obesity. —Doha Madani, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025

Erick Morales of Chula Vista was driving along Bancroft Drive in Spring Valley when his vehicle veered off the roadway and struck a tree just north of Campo Road shortly before 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 30, the medical examiner reported. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

medical examiner

noun

1

: a usually appointed public officer with duties similar to those of a coroner but who is required to have specific medical training (as in pathology) and is qualified to conduct medical examinations and autopsies

2

: a physician employed to make medical examinations (as of applicants for military service or of claimants of workers' compensation)

3

: a physician appointed to examine and license candidates for the practice of medicine in a political jurisdiction (as a state)

Legal Definition

medical examiner

noun

med·​i·​cal examiner

: a public officer who determines the necessity of and conducts autopsies