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Necropsy - Autopsy really means to see for yourself. Necropsy means dissection of the dead. When we took a casual look at trees and soil we once thought we were doing necropsy. Then we took a closer look and we saw for ourselves we were doing autopsies. Then we saw the tree as being made up of dead supporting the living. So, were we doing necropsy or autopsy? The answer was, is, and will be, YES! (We have no word for a substance that is both living and dead - wood, soil. SHIGO 1999 Tree Pithy Points #214)