90 years old: The faculty's oldest employee still goes to the office every Wednesday
Markil Gregersen has determined the cause of death for thousands of Danes and experienced scientific revolutions within his field. In this article, he tells us about his career at Aarhus University from A-Å.

Markil Ebbe Gregers Gregersen
- DMSc and a medical specialist in pathological anatomy and histology.
- Born 16 January 1935 in Koldby, Thy.
- Lives in Egå. Married to Else Marie, a former early childhood educator. The couple have four children - three sons who are doctors and a daughter who is a biologist.
- Began working at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Aarhus in 1963, became head of department from 1966, deputy state-appointed forensic pathologist from 1982, and state-appointed forensic pathologist and professor from 1990-2005.
- He had a part-time position at the department from 2005 to 2010. He still comes in every Wednesday.
It's hard to imagine a working day at the university without internet, computers and mobile phones. It's almost impossible to imagine life as a forensic pathologist without access to DNA profiling, autopsy rooms with CT scanners or detailed forensic chemistry analyses.
Markil Gregersen has witnessed all the greatest advances within his profession since the early 1960s. He has been a state-appointed forensic pathologist, a professor and head of department.
His last official day of work was in 2010, but he is still affiliated with the Department of Forensic Medicine as an external member of academic staff (VIP). As a VIP, he makes his vast back catalogue of knowledge and experience available to the department - for example when he attends the department’s weekly meeting for physicians.
A - arbejde (work)
My career in forensics really was a matter of chance. While waiting to start my residency in 1961, I spent a few months working at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Aarhus. At that time, carbon monoxide poisoning was claiming one life a day in Denmark, and Professor Jørgen B. Dalgaard was writing a book about his research on the subject. I helped him with that and that's how I became involved with the department.

B - barndomshjem (childhood home)
As a child, I saw a lot of dead animals. For example, when people came to our door with chickens they wanted autopsied to check for the parasitic disease coccidiosis. My father was a veterinarian, which is how I got interested in diseases and what lesions look like in an organism. But I didn't want to be a vet – it was a hard life and my dad was always on call. So I became a doctor instead. And then I got busy anyway.
C - CT scanning
I have witnessed many technical and scientific breakthroughs at the Department of Forensic Medicine. In the beginning, we borrowed the CT scanner at the hospital - mostly for babies – but in 2009 the department bought its own CT scanner. Diagnostic imaging has revolutionised investigations and will probably continue doing so even more in the future, as CT scans can be very helpful with post-mortems and autopsies.
D - DNA
In the past, we were constantly scraping under the nails of victims for evidence but to no avail. We might be able to detect traces of blood but never enough to determine blood type. However, the way we worked changed completely in 1984 when British forensic geneticist Alec Jeffreys found areas in the genome that can be used as a genetic fingerprint. Finding a bit of a perpetrator's skin under a fingernail can now be used as important evidence.
E - engagement (making a difference)
There wasn’t a lot of room on the premises at Aarhus Municipal Hospital, where the Department of Forensic Medicine was established in 1959. However, there were only 25 members of staff, including cleaning staff.
Jørgen B. Dalgaard became head of the department, and from the very beginning he was very aware of the department's research and teaching obligations - along with its external obligations to the police and judicial system.
He knew that the office of the public coroner was a source of inspiration for scientific articles, but he also realised how the knowledge generated by the office could be used to directly impact society. He was a bit of an expert at the latter – he knew exactly how to push the buttons of politicians and the media. Traffic accidents were a major killer at the time, with around 1,000 deaths every year, and his research contributed to the introduction of seat belt laws in cars. A law that has saved many lives.
Putting knowledge to good use became a deeply ingrained ethos at the department, as exemplified, for example, by the establishment of the centre for rape victims. This ethos continues to be a cornerstone of the department’s work.
F - forskning (research)
When I returned to the department in 1963, I began researching accidents involving bottled gas. It became the basis of my doctoral dissertation, which contributed to a change in the laws and regulations around gas, and led to the redesign of bottled gas containers. It also led to the detoxification of town gas so it wasn’t inherently toxic when inhaled. Fewer people subsequently died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
G - gifts
I just turned 90, but I didn’t have any wishes for presents - only good health. And to continue being able to take an interest in my friends and family, and keep up with developments in society and within my field.

H - history
I originally wanted to be a hospital pathologist, but an awful lot of cases pass by under their microscopes and they don't have time to immerse themselves in each of them. In forensics, I could really dig into each case and follow it all the way from the post-mortem at the crime scene to the autopsy. I could then keep up with the investigation through the police and the public prosecutor's office, before perhaps being summoned to court and experiencing the impact the case ultimately had on society.
I - identification
Everything went wrong in Dubai in 1972. A plane carrying Danish charter tourists crashed, killing all 112 passengers and crew onboard. That’s when we realised that Denmark had to have a proper identification emergency response team.
The eventual response team consisted of police officers, a forensic pathologist and a forensic odontologist. Later, forensic geneticists joined the team as well. The team was known as the National Police's identification group, and I joined the group in 1988.
Since then, I've helped identify bodies after the Scandinavian Star fire and plane crashes in Italy, Colombia, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. We help each other in the Nordic region, and there’s also international collaboration via Interpol in Lyon.
J - jet lag
I have travelled a lot. Mostly for international conferences and meetings - on subjects such as infant deaths or identification.
But I’ve also worked very closely with colleagues at Aarhus University. I’ve accompanied dentists to disaster areas, I’ve taught anatomy at what was then known as the Department of Anatomy, which is now part of the Department of Biomedicine. I’ve been a member of the faculty's study board, including as vice-dean.
We worked closely with clinicians when there were serious problems with asbestos back in the 1980s, for example. We conducted a lot of autopsies in Jutland because of the fibre cement factory in Aalborg, the shipyards in Aalborg and Frederikshavn and the main DSB workshop. People were dying of asbestosis and lung cancer and we could detect the asbestos fibres in their lungs. I just recently collaborated with the Department of Public Health on this very topic.
K - krimier (murder mysteries)
Like many of my colleagues, I get approached by authors. It's great that they double-check the subject matter so they don't write something that's downright wrong. We need to increase awareness of our profession and what it can be used for - that's why I've also contributed to TV programmes and collaborated with author Elsebeth Egholm.
But I think the true crime wave is taking things a bit too far. Of course you can learn something from real crimes, but I don't think it should be done in a way that turns real murders into nothing but entertainment.

L - ledelse (management)
A new university act was passed in 1970, and with it, Denmark switched from an absolute professorial regime to a more democratic process. A conflict soon arose - who would be the head of the department of forensic medicine? In the end though, it was the professor of forensic medicine who became head of department - at the time, there was usually just one professor in every subject.
In the 1980s, people were afraid that a random student could become head of department and the office of the public coroner as Dalgaard put it, with a slight satirical bent. Eventually a Ministerial Order decreed that the chief public coroner had to be the head of department.
To this day, the head of the Department of Forensic Medicine must be someone who has their roots in forensic medicine. A biochemistry researcher or a random economist could never suddenly become head of the Department of Forensic Medicine. That's where we’re still different from everyone else.
M - mord eller selvmord? (murder or suicide?)
I think many suicides are actually murders. It can be hard to be distinguish between the two, because where there’s a motive for suicide, there can also be a motive for murder. And vice versa. That's why I would very much like to see more forensic autopsies after suicides, but there is no intention of that in the current Danish coroner's act.
N - narkomaner (drug addicts)
A forensic chemistry department was established here in Aarhus in 1968. It was a big deal. Until then, we had to send samples to Copenhagen for analysis. We’d send 12-14 jars of organs, blood, stomach content or urine in a large wooden box by ferry to the Department of Pharmacology and we often had to wait several months for an answer.
The establishment of our own forensic chemistry department coincided with the youth rebellion of the late 60s and the movement's use of drugs – and suddenly we experienced a big increase in narcotic deaths. Since then, a lot has happened within forensic chemistry. New methods have emerged that can detect almost anything in extremely low concentrations. There’s really been a revolution within that area as well.
O - obduktioner (autopsies)
I was in Greenland for the first time in 1982 – and I've probably been there about 100 times since to conduct autopsies.
I don't know how many autopsies I've done in my life. There are cases where I've held the knife myself, but there are always two signatories for forensic autopsies, so I've also just supervised many. We’ve done as many as 600 autopsies a year, and if I've done 300 of them, you can multiply that by almost 50 years.
P - pension (retirement)
I retired in 2005 because everyone got kicked out when they turned 70 back then. But due to staff shortages, I was allowed to continue in a part-time position until 2010.
Now I spend most of my time on archive material and writing.

Q - quickfix
In the 1980s, over 100 babies would die unexpectedly in their sleep each year. In just one day, we had three dead babies at the Department of Forensic Medicine.
We researched SIDS together with other Nordic forensic scientists, paediatricians and statisticians. The breakthrough came when researchers from Australia and New Zealand demonstrated that SIDS had a lot to do with the baby's position when they slept. The Danish Health Authority therefore changed their guidelines to say that babies should not sleep on their stomachs. This led to a drastic decrease in the number of child deaths.
R - rule of law
I have always been aware that I contributed to an important social task. It doesn't matter if it's a drug-related death, an ordinary road accident, a major murder case or a rape. Every day you are confronted with the fact that you contribute to the rule of law.
S - sensation
I've often said to people that it's not always exciting - there's a lot of routine work as well. Not every case is a murder and not all cases are interesting. I don't think many people would find a rotting corpse exciting.
T - tovtrækkeri (heated discussions)
We had enormous problems with a lack of space until we moved to Skejby in 2008. There were many discussions about renting versus owning. It was a big point of contention. We were at the top of the university's priority list for 15-20 years without anything actually getting built.
But it's very nice out here now. It makes sense to be located in a hospital and not on campus because of our collaboration with the entire clinical sector.
U - undervisning - (teaching)
I no longer teach. However, I couldn't say no to giving a presentation on the 1989 plane crash in the sea outside Hirtshals for future forensic dentists recently.

V - victims of rape
We experienced an increase in the number of medical examinations we had to conduct towards the turn of the millennium, and those examinations became increasingly complicated due to trace evidence and DNA. It also entailed wearing a lot more equipment.
These days, trace evidence is considered one of the most important forensic procedures. Rape victims are swabbed and even the smallest amount of saliva from the perpetrator will be enough to find him - if there is a match. It also means that you have to be careful about not leaving any traces yourself during the medical examination. There have been examples of this happening.
X - X marks the perpetrator
I actually worked on the first homicide in Denmark that used DNA traces. An elderly woman was beaten and raped in Aalborg in 1988, and forensic geneticists were able to identify four sperm cells in the secretion sample I sent to Copenhagen. They sent the cells to London and London then sent back a profile for us. However, two years passed before a young man broke down and confessed to the crime, but DNA testing confirmed that he was the perpetrator.
Y - ydelser (services)
The field and services we offer have undergone a huge professionalisation. I’m happy that we now have first-class institutions and a medical specialist training programme, so we can meet the demands of society and the legal system - including in terms of research.
Z - zero
On 10 November 1967, I was in the middle of a hospital autopsy when I was asked to conduct a crime scene investigation in Højbjerg. There was an enormous police presence when I arrived. The investigation revealed that the victim, a woman, had been shot multiple times.
Upwards of 10,000 people were questioned. A motive could not be determined, and to this day, the murder of Marie Lock-Hansen remains unsolved.
Æ - ældgammel (ancient)
I’m very interested in bog bodies. In the 10th century, the young wife of Eric Bloodaxe, Queen Gunhild, was lured to King Harald Bluetooth's seat in Jelling. When she arrived, he ordered his men to drown her in a bog. Queen Gunhild was the first bog body in the world to be CT scanned. It wasn't my doing, but I was there and it was very exciting.
Since then, all available bog bodies have been scanned - I was involved with the Grauballe Man, the Tollund Man and the Elling Woman. Such a well-preserved body from that time can provide a lot of information: What diseases did they have, what weaknesses? Unfortunately, the DNA of bog bodies has long since been destroyed, so you can’t pull that information out of them, but you never know if it might be possible some day.
Ø - økonomi (finances)
For a long time, it was difficult to get the funds necessary to run the department. We had to live off the funds provided to us by the government and the faculty.
In the mid-1980s, a scheme was introduced that granted money for autopsies and medical examinations, i.e. income-generating activities. The department could then use that money as it saw fit, for example to buy equipment or hire staff. Although we were a little apprehensive about it at first, it turned out to be really advantageous.
It also meant that the department became dependent on funded research. At the time, it was quite unusual for a university department to be dependant on external funding. Today, it's of course much more common.
Å - åbenbaringer (revelations)
I can't even begin to imagine what the next scientific breakthroughs will be. The new DNA research being conducted by Willerslev is extremely exciting. I never dreamed that you’d be able to find out what walked the prairies thousands of years ago just by analysing soil samples. It's so impressive.
Want to know more about the history of forensic medicine?
Markil Gregersen has authored and contributed to several books on forensic medicine.
For example:
- ”Krøniken om Retsmedicinsk Institut, Aarhus Universitet 1959 – 2005” (the chronicle of the department of forensic medicine, Aarhus University 1959 - 2005) (in Danish only)
- “100 års retsmedicin. Til gavn for de levende” by Jakob Kehlet (100 years of forensic medicine - for the benefit of the living) (in Danish only)
- “Dødens årsag - Et retsmedicinsk snit gennem Danmarkshistorien" (The cause of death - A forensic incision through Danish history) (published by Lindhardt & Ringhof) - written in collaboration with Tommy Heisz.
Contact
External VIP Markil Gregersen
Aarhus University, Department of Forensic Medicine
Telephone: +45 61 28 82 50
Email: mgr@forens.au.dk