Whats the need for toxicology results in a post mortem? No visable cause of death?

Question

My brother (aged 35) died this month and a post mortem has been carried out, the death certificate has been issued and he has been buried but it inconclusive awaiting toxicology results, with no cause of death as yet.

Can someone tell me...does this mean they could not find any visible cause of death on his body? i.e. organ failure etc?

My brother was an alcoholic, I just want to know the results so I can know how he died, I know alot of alcoholics slip into a coma before death - im hoping it was a similar painless death - but I thought this would be visable on his body?

Could someone with knowledge within this area suggest possible causes of death if the post mortem is inconclusive awaiting toxicology?

Please help! Thank you x*x

Answer 1

Sha, I really recommend you don't worry about the cause of death unless you seriously think there was some type of foul play involved.  Just remind yourself he's in a better place right now and not in any pain right now.  

Finally, what difference would it make if you knew the cause of death?  Would you really want to know if your bother suffered a painful death? That's not how you want to remember him, so don't I would dwell on it.

Answer 2

There still might be an obvious reason for death, but this isn't always the cause.  The brain, liver, lungs, etc could show severe damage by an unknown mechanism (not saying any of these are why he died).  While we can say that the cause of death is liver failure if it's obvious that it wasn't functioning, we still can't say why the liver failed.  But I agree still with the other responder.  Try to focus on your brother's life, not how he died.  Death is always ugly, there's no way around it.  Focusing on it does you no good and I doubt it's what your brother would want you doing.