A dazed 34-year-old man with blood on his shirt shows up at a woman's front door, leaves, and is later found dead in the woods. The man's body is covered in scratch marks, and his car is found in a ditch nearby. Dr. G notices that the man's skin is starting to decompose and slip off, despite that he has been dead less than ten hours. Dr. G must piece the clues together to find out who or what killed the man.A 42-year-old mother collapses and dies two days after a tummy tuck operation. Dr. G must investigate multiple possibilities as to the woman's cause of death, including complications from the surgery, pain medication overdose, and natural disease.

A 62-year-old man is found in a motel parking lot with severe facial trauma, but the man has no memory of how he got it. Weeks later, he dies in the hospital. Police believe the man was bludgeoned, but Dr. G has a different theory.A 42-year-old man is found dead in bed by his wife. The man suffered from chronic facial pain, and his family fears that he may have intentionally overdosed on his pain medication. Given the man's extensive medical history and past suicide attempts, Dr. G must consider all possibilities as she searches for the cause of death.

A 60-year-old basketball coach is found dead in his house after missing a week of work. The man has a clean medical history, but Dr. G finds evidence of a well known medical condition that may have lead to the man's demise.A 54-year-old man arrives in the morgue after dying from a brain hemorrhage in the hospital. However, the cause of the brain hemorrhage remains a mystery. The man died while drunk and high on amphetamines, indicating that the hemorrhage may have been drug-related. The man's son reports that his father had been involved in bar fight prior to this death, suggesting that the hemorrhage may have been the result of an assault, and therefore a homicide. Dr. G must consider both possibilities, as well as others, as she searches for the cause of the brain hemorrhage.

In this special episode based on her book How Not to Die: Surprising Lessons on Living Longer, Safer, and Healthier, Dr. G counts down the top five reasons that people end up in the morgue, shares past cases that exemplify each cause of death, and offers tips on how to avoid dying prematurely.

A 49-year-old man, reputed for being a drunk, is found dead, hanging by his pants from a neighbor's fence. Police believe the man's death to be an accident, but Dr. G suspects foul play.A 42-year-old construction worker collapses on the job and dies. The man's coworkers report that he was feeling ill before his collapse. The man had a history of abusing drugs, and severe case of psoriasis. Dr. G suspects a drug overdose, but she soon receives an important piece of information her medical investigator that takes the case in a new direction.

A 69-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the back of the head is found slumped over the rail of a footbridge. A gun is found in found in a holster on the man's waist, and Dr. G finds multiple clues indicating that the man had fired his own gun prior to his death. Could the man have shot himself in the back of the head, or was he murdered?A 23-year-old man is found dead in his bed and covered in vomit after a night of heavy drinking. The decedent's mother reveals that the man took a prescription anxiety medication, and Dr. G suspects that the combination of the anxiety medication and the alcohol may have produced a deadly result. Will Dr. G's hypothesis prove correct?

A three-year-old boy is found dead in bed by his mother. The mother reports that two days prior, she had given her son acetaminophen for abdominal pain, and that he had been vomiting in the past twenty-four hours before his death. Dr. G suspects a natural disease, until she finds evidence indicative of abuse.A 31-year-old man collapses at his grandparents' house and later dies in the hospital. The grandparents report that their grandson had decided to mow the lawn despite not feeling well, and that he had become exhausted and collapsed afterward. The man has an extensive medical history, as well as a history of drug and alcohol use. Dr. G begins the autopsy suspecting a routine drug overdose, but what she finds is anything but routine.

A 42-year-old diabetic woman dies at home while recovering from a tooth extraction. The woman died after being treated by her sister for low blood sugar, and the sister worries that she may have made a mistake that contributed to her sister's death. However, Dr. G suspects that the death may instead have been from complications of the dental surgery.A 69-year-old woman struggling with depression is found dead in bed by her family. The woman had been healthy, and the family is worried that she may have committed suicide. Dr. G works to find the cause of death, but this proves more difficult than she anticipated.

A 39-year-old woman is found dead on the floor of her apartment by her grandmother. Despite the grandmother's account that her granddaughter did not do drugs or drink excessively, the granddaughter's medical records suggest otherwise. A pathology resident joins Dr. G for the autopsy, and together they make an unexpected discovery. A 39-year-old woman and her 48-year-old boyfriend are found dead in bed, nude. Both victims have been shot in the head, and the boyfriend has a gun in his hand. The woman was cheating on her husband, and the police suspect that the husband may have committed a double homicide and planted the gun the boyfriend's hand. It's up to Dr. G to determine who fired the gun.

A 10-year-old boy is found dead on his bedroom floor. Dr. Norma Jean Farley, one of Dr. G's pathology fellows, volunteers for the case. The boy had been taking Ritalin for ADHD and he had asthma, but Dr. Farley must also rule out child abuse. When the cause of death proves elusive, Dr. Farley seeks Dr. G's help, and both doctors are shocked when the tragic cause of death is revealed. A 10-year-old girl is struck by lightning, and is subsequently left brain dead with no hope for recovery. The family makes the decision to donate their daughter's organs. Dr. G must decide if she can perform a successful investigation without the girl's vital organs.

Two trash bags are found in a swamp containing the dismembered body of a missing 27-year-old man. The man was last seen when he left his home to collect a debt from an acquaintance. The acquaintance becomes the prime suspect, and confesses the crime to his cellmate, but denies the crime to the police. It's up to Dr. G to uncover the truth. A 55-year-old man is seemingly run over by a slow-moving van backing out of a parking lot. Dr. G finds external evidence of trauma, but no apparent internal injuries. Dr. G must take this case under the microscope to determine the cause of death.

A girl finds her 35-year-old father dead on the couch. The man has no medical records, but the mans family thinks that the mans well water was contaminated. A neighbor also reports that the man was coughing up blood, indicating a possible tuberculosis infection. Dr. Gs husband, an infectious disease specialist, collaborates with Dr. G on the case. A 51-year-old man is found dead in bed. The man had been suffering from depression due to his recent divorce, and two bottles of prescription painkillers are found on the nightstand next to the bed. The family suspects that the man committed suicide. Will Dr. Gs findings confirm their worst fears?

A 43-year-old man takes a nap at his parents house, and is later found dead in bed. The man had several conditions that put his health at risk, including morbidly obesity, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. However, Dr. G is hesitant to jump to conclusions when her autopsy findings dont quite add up, so she opts to wait for the toxicology results before closing the case. A 53-year-old woman is found dead on her couch. The woman was obese and a smoker, her son notes that she had suffered an episode of intense eye pain the day before, and Dr. G finds signs of trauma on the womans lower body. With many potential suspects, only Dr. Gs autopsy will narrow down the cause of death.

A 29-year-old man dies after three-day spell of nausea and vomiting. While he was still alive, the man told his sister he believed he had gotten food poisoning from a fish sandwich he had eaten four days prior to his death. Dr. G knows that deaths from food poisoning are rare, but having a read a recent press release reporting a fish poisoning outbreak, she must investigate the possibility. A 42-year-old woman sustains fatal injuries in a car accident involving a drunk driver. In order for the drunk driver to be held accountable for the woman's death, it must be confirmed that the woman was not responsible for the crash. Dr. G's role in the case is to autopsy the victim in order to investigate the possibility that the woman suffered a medical condition, such as a heart attack or stroke, that caused her to lose control of her car. By the end of the investigation, Dr. G makes an unexpected and shocking discovery.

A four-month-old baby is found dead in his crib. Not only must Dr. G find out what caused this baby's untimely death, she must also find out if the baby's twin sister is also at risk of dying in the same manner. A 23-year-old father collapses on the floor while at home with his children. Because of the man's age and history of marijuana use, Dr G. suspects that he may have used and subsequently overdosed on harder drugs.

A 78-year-old grandfather falls on the sidewalk while visiting his family. He seems fine at first, but he collapses and dies hours later. Dr. G's review of the background information is inconclusive, and an autopsy is needed to determine the cause of death. However, the man's family objects to an autopsy for religious reasons. Will Dr. G be able to convince the family of the importance of an autopsy, or will the man's cause of death forever remain a mystery? A 39-year-old florist collapses and dies in her shop while meeting with clients. Given the woman's young age and lack of known medical conditions, Dr. G anticipates that this will be an unusual case.

A four-month-old baby is found unresponsive in his crib, and cannot be revived at the hospital. Dr. G must investigate the possibility of child abuse as she searches for the cause of death. A 36-year-old woman has a seizure and dies on a city bus. The woman had gone to the hospital the night before, complaining of chest pain and lightheadededness, and had been diagnosed with bronchitis. Also of concern is that the woman lived in a group home for the mentally disabled. Was the woman a victim of neglect or foul play in the group home, did the hospital make a fatal misdiagnosis of her condition, or did she die from something else entirely? It's up to Dr. G to find out.

An unidentified woman is found brutally murdered by the side of the road. In addition to pinpointing the cause of death, Dr. G must collect evidence from the body that will help investigators identify the victim, and the killer. A 41-year-old man goes out for boat ride; hours later, he is found dead at the bottom of the lake. His boat is found intact, with its engine still idling. It's up to Dr. G find out if the man simply drowned, was intoxicated, was knocked unconscious in an accident, or suffered a medical emergency.