"Autopsy" is the second episode of the second season of ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

'', which premiered on the Fox network on September 20, 2005. Andie, a nine-year-old terminal cancer patient, experiences hallucinations, leading House and his team to conduct an autopsy on a live patient.

Plot

and his team struggle to find the cause of hallucinations that Andie (

Sasha Pieterse Sasha Pieterse-Sheaffer (; born February 17, 1996) is a South African-born American actress, singer and songwriter. She is known for her role as Alison DiLaurentis in the Freeform series '' Pretty Little Liars'' and its spin-off '' Pretty Litt ...

) is seeing. She is a nine-year-old girl with

terminal cancer Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced h ...

(

alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma Alveolus (; pl. alveoli, adj. alveolar) is a general anatomical term for a concave cavity or pit. Uses in anatomy and zoology * Pulmonary alveolus, an air sac in the lungs ** Alveolar cell or pneumocyte ** Alveolar duct ** Alveolar macrophage * ...

), but tests reveal that her cancer is in

remission Remission often refers to: *Forgiveness Remission may also refer to: Healthcare and science *Remission (medicine), the state of absence of disease activity in patients with a chronic illness, with the possibility of return of disease activity *R ...

, meaning that the

hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

are unrelated to her cancer. Meanwhile, House questions Andie's motives for her bravery, suggesting it may itself be a symptom of a problem in her

amygdala The amygdala (; plural: amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex ver ...

. House discovers a benign tumor in her heart, which is surgically removed, but it does not account for the hallucinations. House deduces that there must be a clot which the cancer deployed prior to removal. He suggests employing

therapeutic hypothermia Targeted temperature management (TTM) previously known as therapeutic hypothermia or protective hypothermia is an active treatment that tries to achieve and maintain a specific body temperature in a person for a specific duration of time in an e ...

to discover the clot, which does not show on an angiograph: Cooling her body temperature down to 21°C will stop her heart, effectively making her clinically dead. Then the doctors will remove 2-3 liters of blood and discover the clot when the blood is pumped back in. House compares this procedure to "performing an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

on a living person." The blood removal and temperature can not be held for more than 60 seconds or she will suffer permanent damage. Wilson calls it a "lottery shot", but finding the clot will give her an additional year to live. In a tense moment Foreman finds the clot, which only appeared for a fraction of a second, and with his direction the surgery is successful. Andie tells Chase that she went to a cancer camp and has never kissed a boy in her life and she doesn't know if she will be walking out of the hospital. She asks Chase to kiss her. He is hesitant at first and says no but she keeps begging him to do it. Finally he kisses her and later he tells the team and House. They are surprised. Wilson confronts House about the placement of the blood clot – it was not in her amygdala. House concedes he was wrong about Andie's bravery being a symptom of her clot, but replies to Wilson saying the girl is dead anyway. Wilson states that Andie could outlive him. When Andie is leaving the hospital she hugs each of the staff, finally reaching House, who stands and looks awkward as she hugs him. Andie tells House, "It's sunny outside, you should go for a walk." As House is leaving the hospital he stands and admires some motorcycles. He asks the salesman if he can take one for a test ride. The episode ends with House riding the motorcycle down a long stretch of empty road.

Clinic patient

House sees Brad (

Randall Park Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town * Randall, Iowa, a city * Randall, Kansas, a city *Randall, Minne ...

), a clinic patient who managed to mutilate himself trying to remove his own foreskin with a box cutter knife, in an attempt to please his new girlfriend. House refers him to a plastic surgeon.

Reception

Accolades

Lawrence Kaplow won the 2006 Writers Guild of America award for Episodic Drama for this episode. The episode won a Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing for Dialogue and ADR in Episodic Short Form Broadcast Media. Danielle Berdman and Derek Hill received an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series.

References

External links

"Autopsy"
at Fox.com * {{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay 1995–2009 House (season 2) episodes 2005 American television episodes it:Episodi di Dr. House - Medical Division (seconda stagione)#Il coraggio di morire