Whitney Houston Cause of Death: Autopsy Answers Will Take Time, Doctors Say

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The public likes instant answers. When Whitney Houston died on Feb. 11 at the age of 48, Internet commentators whose medical knowledge derives from the TMZ School of Celebrity Misfortune assumed that drugs had finally done the singer in. According to the TV program 'The Doctors,' however, it will take time to ascertain the true cause of death -- and that's if it can even be determined.

As host Dr. Travis Stork says in the clip below, there are only a handful of things -- brain bleed, blood clot, heart attack, etc. -- that can cause sudden death. He then asks guest Dr. Michael Fishbein, a pathologist at the UCLA Medical Center, to explain the process of an autopsy.

The first step, Dr. Fishbein says, involves studying the deceased's medical history and determining if drug use or disease might have been the culprit. Examiners then look for signs of foul play or injury.

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Whitney Houston Cause of Death: Autopsy Answers Will Take Time, Doctors Say

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