PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A six-hour autopsy, including full X-rays, was performed yesterday on the body of Terri Schiavo, but the results may not be released for several weeks, the state medical examiner for Pinellas County reported.

Schiavo's body also is ready for release to her husband, Michael, but the medical examiner would not comment on when that will happen. Michael Schiavo plans to cremate his wife's remains and bury the ashes in Pennsylvania without telling his in-laws when or where to avoid media attention.

Also yesterday, city workers began cleaning up behind protesters who spent nearly two weeks outside Woodside Hospice where the severely brain-damaged woman died 13 days after her feeding tube was removed. Schiavo, who had been connected to the tube for 15 years, died Thursday.

The tube was removed under a court order won by her husband, Michael, who convinced the courts that Schiavo, 41, never wanted to be kept alive by artificial means. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, vehemently disagreed but lost a series of state and federal court appeals to have the tube reinserted.

Michael Schiavo hopes the autopsy will settle questions about his wife's medical condition.

As normalcy was being restored to the once-quiet neighborhood surrounding the hospice, about 50 people gathered yesterday morning for a final Catholic Mass. Before beginning, activist Rev. Frank Pavrone said the Schiavo story will serve as a "wake-up call."

"It has re-energized a lot of people," said the leader of Priests for Life.

Yet, those most intimately involved in the family dispute reportedly were exhausted and mourning Schiavo's death, which came 15 years after what is believed to have been a chemical imbalance caused her heart to stop briefly, leaving her severely brain damaged.

Brother Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan friar who served as spiritual adviser to Schiavo's parents, said the family was in seclusion yesterday. No public appearances were scheduled.

Michael Schiavo and his in-laws are planning separate funerals. The Schindlers have scheduled a funeral Mass for Tuesday in nearby Gulfport. Schiavo's family has said he plans to take the cremated remains to Pennsylvania, where his wife grew up, even though his in-laws want a Florida burial.

Although most public-opinion polls showed strong support for Schiavo's right to die, Pavrone and other activists have vilified Michael Schiavo. He also has been dogged by death threats.

A friend said Thursday that Schiavo "is not doing well."

"He was extremely upset when I talked to him, physically and mentally," said Alan Shoopak, a dentist. "His goal is to find safe housing right now, because of these death threats. It's complicated because it's not over. Unfortunately, it's just beginning."

The Schindlers' attorney, David Gibbs, appeared to agree in a CNN interview Thursday. He spoke of the Schindlers' new "sense of mission."

"They feel that they have now been entrusted of God with Terri's legacy," Gibbs said. "They want to make sure that she did not die in vain."

Family members plan to tour the nation as advocates for laws that "protect the innocent and the disabled from facing the fate of starvation that Terri had to undergo," he said.

Funeral details were reported by

The Associated Press.