Unfortunately, it was the type of accident you might have if you fell behind the counter at your local pharmacy and bottles of anti-depressants fell off the shelves and into your mouth.

According to M.E. spokeswoman Ellen Borakove's statement, Heath Ledger's death was caused by "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydro-codone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine."

Thanks to Amy Westfeldt of the Associated Press, who could probably now get a job at a CVS, oxycodone is a painkiller marketed as OxyContin and used in painkillers such as Percodan and Percocet; hydrocodone is used in painkillers such as Vicodin.

Diazepam and alprazolam are the generics for the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax. The other two drugs are sleep aids commonly sold under the brands Restoril and Unisom.

Police had said they found six types of prescription drugs in Ledger's apartment, which matches with the six the M.E. found in his body.

Borakove wouldn't say what concentrations of each drug were found in his blood (how about we just leave it at "enough"), or whether one drug played a greater part than another in causing his death.

The ruling comes two weeks after Ledger was found dead, by his masseuse, in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. She entered his bedroom and found him unresponsive, and proceeded to call Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before dialing 911. Ledger had been dead for some time, and police say no foul play occurred.

Ledger's family returned to his hometown of Perth, Australia, Tuesday, to prepare for his funeral. Arrangements were private.

She's ba-a-ck

Britney Spears is out of the psych ward and back home - which could be the same thing.

TMZ.com reports Britney's doctors at UCLA Medical Center determined that she did not pose a danger to others (it's not like she was about to release another record) or to herself and they could not continue to hold her against her wishes.

The conservatorship, headed by a dad she reportedly distrusts and dislikes, is still in place, as is the restraining order against "manager" Sam Lutfi, whom she reportedly likes and trusts.

She still can't see her kids.

And little sis is still pregnant.

From our angle, the pysch ward looks pretty good.

* In another twisted twist, TMZ.com reports that Lutfi, the guy who reportedly didn't care about his own image, has hired media consultant Michael Sands, who previously worked for K-Fed's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, digging up dirt on . . . Sam Lutfi.

Lutfi told TMZ.com that Sands has been retained to "set the record straight" about who he is.

"I'm honored to work with a patriot like Sam Lutfi," Sands said.

Barker bucks showcase ethics

Bob Barker said yesterday he is donating $1 million to his alma mater, Drury University, in Springfield, Mo., to establish an undergrad animal-ethics program.

"It's incredible that I ever was able to go back to Springfield and give them a million dollars, because when I was there, I didn't have 15 cents," Barker told the Associated Press. "What I'm hoping is that this will become a model for other undergraduate schools."

Over the past decade, Barker has donated millions to establish animal-rights curricula at law schools including Harvard, Columbia and Northwestern.

The catch? In order to get the million, the president of Drury has to guess which costs more, the toothpaste or the deodorant.

Tattbits

* Los Angeles Judge Edward A. Ferns has refused to dismiss a defamation suit against loud TV shrink "Dr. Phil" McGraw brought by brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, who were questioned in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

William Cremer, attorney for the Kalpoes, praised the decision.

"I'm going to take Dr. Phil down," he said outside court.

Hey, if you just take him down a few decibels . . .

* The Hollywood Reporter says that Heather Locklear is returning to Lifetime in a TV-movie about a vacationing woman about to turn 40 who falls in love with a much younger man.

Tentative title: "Flirting with 40." Better title: "How a White Chick not Named Stella Got What Passes for Her Groove Back."

* Jennifer Lopez's father, David Lopez, told Telefutura's "Escandalo TV" program that his daughter is expecting twins.

The father is always the last to know.

* Christina Aguilera sure knows how to throw a bris.

Typically a quiet affair, except for the shriek of the baby boy, in which foreskin-free men grit their teeth and avert their eyes, Christina made her son Max's Jan. 20 bris more festive, decorating her home with penis balloons as if it were a bachelorette party.

"I'm not Jewish, [Jordan Bratman] my husband's Jewish," Aguilera is quoted as saying by the World Entertainment News Network. "I never really knew a lot of Jewish people growing up, either, so I really had no idea about the bris and all the Jewish holidays. It's all a learning process for me."

So what's more surprising, that Christina didn't freak out when a moyel held a blade to Max's member, or that she grew up in the music business and didn't know Jewish people? *

Daily News wire services and Baird Jones contributed to this report.

Send e-mail to gensleh@phillynews.com