Etymologically speaking, the word autopsy means “ to see for oneself, with one’s own eyes ”. Its aim, therefore, is to see. But is it meant to be seen ? Compared to anatomical dissections and anatomopathological examinations, the rules governing the practice of forensic autopsies in the nineteenth century seem to have been less restrictive, and the observers more numerous. Due to the common use of public and private spaces not specific to scientific purposes, the operational freedom accorded to the medical specialist, and to the unique situation presented by the presence of a judicial expert, it seems that the medico-legal autopsy was meant to be seen by laymen. Nonetheless, various indications of the desire to conceal it from the public began to appear during the nineteenth century.