medical examiner

American  

noun

1. a physician or other person trained in medicine who is appointed by a city, county, or the like, to perform autopsies on the bodies of persons supposed to have died from unnatural causes and to investigate the cause and circumstances of such deaths.

2. a physician retained by an insurance company, industrial firm, or the like, to give medical examinations to its clients or employees.

---

medical examiner British  

noun

1. a medical expert, usually a physician, employed by a state or local government to determine the cause of sudden death in cases of suspected violence, suicide, etc Compare coroner

2. a physician who carries out medical examinations

---

Etymology

Origin of medical examiner

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

medical examiner

After Walker’s death, a medical examiner ruled that she died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease with preeclampsia, the latter of which is a dangerous pregnancy-related high blood pressure condition that doctors had identified in Walker.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

Despite the failings in Jaafri's care, "and for reasons which remain unfathomable", the death was not reported to him by doctors at the hospital, nor the medical examiner, the coroner said.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Police said that the county medical examiner would determine the cause of death and that the department was conducting an investigation “to determine if any criminal incident occurred.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

The medical examiner cited complications related to a respiratory virus and ruled the death as noncriminal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The discredited pathologist left Alabama but continues to serve as a practicing medical examiner in Texas.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson