Post-mortem diagnosis is the use of post-mortem chemistry analysis tests to diagnose a disease after someone has died. Some diseases are unknown until death, or were not correctly diagnosed earlier. One way that diseases can be diagnosed is by examining the concentrations of certain substances in the blood or other sample types. For example, diabetic ketoacidosis can be diagnosed by looking at the concentration glucose levels in the vitreous humor, ketone bodies, glycated hemoglobin, or glucose in the urine. Dehydration can be diagnosed by looking for increased urea nitrogen, sodium, and chloride levels, with normal creatinine levels in the vitreous humor. Endocrine disorders can be diagnosed by looking at hormone concentrations and epinephrine and insulin levels. Liver diseases can be diagnosed by looking at the ratio of albumin and globulin in the sample.
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