Elephant necropsy

Sa？etak Necropsy of an elephant is a very demanding task which represents a real challenge for the performing pathologist. This is mainly due to the technical problems which are associated with such a necropsy, simply caused by the great size of the cadaver. An equally important challenge is the potential contact with infectious pathogens which a pathologist may encounter during this task. A notable and common example in recent times is tuberculosis caused by M. tuberculosis in elephants. In this paper, using one case from our archives, we present the technical characteristics of the necropsy procedure in elephants, but also give general guidelines regarding the safety of the performing staff