Pathologist Renate Kain has death as her profession. She knows: you don’t have to be afraid of the end of life, but of the feeling that you have missed opportunities in life. And what is it really like to autopsy people? How can you live with such a view? We asked exactly.
Prof. dr. Renate Kain heads the Institute of Pathology and Molecular Pathology of MedUni Vienna at the Vienna General Hospital. In its early years, it performed about a thousand autopsies: then the autopsy rate was over 90 percent. Medicine has now advanced to the point that fewer and fewer autopsies are needed to determine the cause of death. About 97 percent of the activities are now performed on living people. For example, all cells and tissues removed for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes are examined by pathologists. But let’s ask more specifically:
„krone“: The much-quoted last breath: is it actually an inhalation or an exhalation?
Renate Cain: Inhalation is an active process that requires muscle contractions. Exhalation is passive, it comes naturally, so ultimately it is exhalation.
What was working with the dead like for you in the beginning?
We were well prepared during our studies. Maybe dealing with the many dead people weighed on me sometimes. Sometimes I did so many autopsies that I was amazed that so many were still alive.
That sight of the dead being cut open…
I built some kind of protection mechanism. An autopsy also includes the external description of the deceased: I do this abstractly, without consciously wanting to recognize certain characteristics of the person. A deceased person also has no active muscle activity, no more facial expressions, the facial features change. I don’t know if I would recognize a person.
Were there any things that particularly touched you?
Yes. Above all, unnecessary deaths, the deaths of young people. Like a tourist who wanted to photograph Vienna from the roof of a train car. It was not so much the physical change caused by the electrodeath as the futility of death that touches, that is remembered.
How do you think dying feels?
I can imagine that the spectrum here is as broad as it is in life. I believe that for some people, perhaps later in life, death can be a relief. For those who say the time is now. But for those who are not ready yet, it is certainly difficult. It also depends on the type of death: I would say eg B. feels terrible now that he is shot.
And you?
At 25 I wouldn’t have been ready to die. Today I don’t want it and I wish for a healthy life – but I increasingly accept that the day will come.
And then it’s all over?
Whether death is also the end, I cannot say. I was raised Catholic and believe in a soul and life after death. As a pure scientist I can tell you: I have no evidence for this.
So you have no proof of a soul?
I hear from colleagues and friends that people who accompany others when they die often have the impression that the person is still there for a while before they say goodbye.
And you personally?
I never had the impression that there was more than the body. I don’t know if there is anything metaphysical in the transition from still life to being dead. But if people feel that way, there’s nothing wrong with it. Whether that’s my own attitude toward the dead or really this person, I can’t say. If it’s a kind of goodbye, then it sure is a beautiful one.
How has the professional confrontation with death changed your attitude to life?
Let’s put it this way: dealing with death and the deceased gives even more opportunities to shed light on how you deal with your own life. I’ve thought about this many times in my life. And I’ve seen it time and time again: in addition to sadness and pain, the sense of missed opportunities is very important when dealing with the loss of someone. That’s what dealing with death reminds me of: that we should really live as if we were seeing the other person for the last time, as if we don’t have much time left to live ourselves, argue to clean up, etc. to me means living with death, being grateful for every day that you are healthy, that you can spend with your family. Because death is final.
How would you like to die? And how not?
I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up. Because dealing with death in a serious illness is of course different than when I just don’t wake up anymore. Any death that involves long suffering and pain is a death I do not wish. I would not consciously shorten my life, even in the face of suffering and pain, but I would put myself in the hands of palliative care to ease the transition to dying.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
