Glossary

All diseases, morbid conditions or injuries that either resulted in or contributed to death, and the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced any such injuries. For vital statistics purposes, symptoms or modes of dying, such as heart failure and asthenia, are not considered to be causes of death. See Underlying cause of death

A document, in paper or electronic format, issued by the registrar and containing all or part of the exact information contained on the original vital record, and which, when issued by the Registrar, has the full force and effect of the original vital record

The person authorized by law to issue a certificate, in a prescribed format, stating the underlying and contributory causes of death, and other facts related to the event, for submission to the local registrar or other appropriate authority. The certifier is usually the physician who attended the deceased in his or her last illness; or, in the case of deaths of persons who were not attended during the last illness by a physician or who may have died owing to violence or injury, the medical-legal officer (e.g., the coroner or the medical examiner)

The permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after the occurrence of live birth, i.e., the postnatal cessation of vital functions without capability of resuscitation. This definition excludes fetal deaths. See Fetal death

The registration of a vital event after the prescribed period determined in existing laws, rules or regulations (including any grace period, if specified). Late registration is the registration of a vital event after the prescribed time period but within a specified grace period. Since the grace period is usually considered to be one year following the vital event, delayed registration is usually considered to be the registration of a vital event one year or more after the vital event has occurred. See Late civil registration

The death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of the period of gestation. Death is indicated by the fact that after such separation, the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles. See stillbirth

The death of a live-born child under 1 year of age

The individual or institution whose responsibility, designated by law, is to report to the local registrar the fact of the occurrence of a vital event and to provide all the information on and all the characteristics of the event. On the basis of such a report, the event may be legally registered by the local registrar

The registration of a vital event after the legally specified time period but within a specified grace period. The grace period is usually considered to be one year following the vital event. See Delayed Registration

The result of the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which after such separation breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. Each product of such a birth is considered to be live-born

The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) is the internationally recommended form for recording information regarding the cause of death for certification purposes, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).  It is completed by a medically trained person and includes the cause of death according to the International Classification of Diseases certification standards.  The MCCD is designed to document the underlying cause of death, which is either the disease or injury initiating the chain of events leading directly to death or the circumstances of an accident or violence causing the fatal injury.  It serves critical legal and statistical purposes, ensuring accurate and standardized reporting of mortality data and supporting public health policies.

The completion by a medically trained person of a death certificate that includes the cause of death according to the International Classification of Diseases certification standards.

The death of a live birth during the first 28 completed days of life

The individual appointed by the local registrar to act as intermediary between the local registrar and the informant in providing all the information on and all the characteristics of an event that is to be legally registered by the local registrar

Fetal deaths with a birth weight greater than 1000 g, gestation of more than 28 completed weeks of gestation and, if weight is not known, body length greater than 35 cm

The disease or injury that initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death or the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury. The underlying cause of death is used as the basis for the tabulation of mortality statistics

A verbal autopsy is an interview carried out with family members and caregivers of the deceased, using a structured questionnaire to elicit signs and symptoms and other pertinent information that can later be used to assign a probable underlying cause of death

The occurrence of a live birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, adoption, legitimation, recognition of parenthood, annulment of marriage or legal separation