Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science
used to temporarily preserve human remains to forestall decomposition
and make it suitable for display at a funeral. It has a long history,
and other cultures had embalming processes that had much greater
religious meaning.
History Of Embalming
Embalming has been in many cultures. In classical antiquity, perhaps
the Old World culture that had developed embalming to the greatest
extent was that of ancient Egypt, who developed the process of
mummification. They believed that preservation of the mummy empowered
the soul after death, which would return to the preserved corpse.
Other cultures that had developed embalming processes include the
Incas and other cultures of Peru, whose climate also favoured a form of
mummification.
Embalming in Europe had a much more sporadic existence. It was
attempted from time to time, especially during the Crusades, when
crusading noblemen wished to have their bodies preserved for burial
closer to home.
Contemporary embalming methods advanced markedly during the
American Civil War, which once again involved many servicemen dying far
from home, and their families wishing them returned for local burial.
Dr. Thomas N. Holmes received a commission from the Army Medical Corps
to embalm the corpses of dead Union servicemen to return to their
families. Military authorities also permitted private embalmers to work
in military-controlled areas.
In 1867, the German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann discovered
formaldehyde, whose preservative properties were soon discovered and
which became the foundation for modern methods of embalming.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries arsenic was frequently used
as an embalming fluid but has since been supplanted by other more
effective and less toxic chemicals. There were questions about the
possibility of arsenic from embalmed bodies later contaminating ground
water supplies. There were also legal concerns as people suspected of
murder by arsenic poisoning could claim that the levels of poison in the
deceased's body were a result of embalming post mortem rather than
evidence of homicide.
Modern Embalming
Embalming as practiced in the funeral homes of the Western World uses
several steps. Modern embalming techniques are not the result of a
single practitioner, but rather the accumulation of many decades, even
centuries, of research, trial and error and invention. A standardized
version follows below but variation on techniques is very common.
The first thing an embalmer should do is verify the identity of
the deceased (normally via wrist or leg tags) and perform basic tests
for signs of death, such as clouded-over corneas, lividity and rigor
mortis. While people awakening on the mortuary table is largely the
province of horror fiction and urban myth , testing for death is still a
final additional precaution. Any clothing on the corpse is removed and
set aside; jewelry, also, is inventoried. A modesty cloth is then placed
over the deceased's genitalia for dignity. Following this the corpse is
washed in disinfecting and germicidal solutions, shaved, and groomed.
The embalmer bends, flexes and massages the arms and legs to relieve
rigor mortis. The eyes are closed and kept closed with an eyecap that
keeps them shut and in the proper expression. The mouth may be sewn
shut, and a device is also employed to allow the embalmer to set the
facial expression of the corpse. The process of closing the mouth, eyes,
shaving etc is collectively known as setting the features.
The actual embalming process usually involves four parts:
- arterial embalming, which involves the injection of embalming
chemicals into the blood vessels, usually via the right common carotid
artery. Blood is drained from the right jugular vein. The embalming
solution is injected using an embalming machine and the embalmer
massages the corpse to ensure a proper distribution of the embalming
fluid. In case of poor circulation, other injection points are used;
- cavity embalming, the suction of the internal fluids of the
corpse and the injection of embalming chemicals into body cavities,
using an aspirator and trocar. The embalmer makes a small incision just
above the navel and pushes the trocar in the chest and stomach cavities
to puncture the hollow organs and aspirate their contents. He then fills
the cavities with concentrated chemicals. The incision is either
sutured closed or a "trocar button" is screwed into place.
- hypodermic embalming, the injection of embalming chemicals under the skin as needed; and
- surface embalming, which supplements the other methods, especially for visible, injured body parts.
Most good embalmings are completed in two or three hours, although an
easy case may take less and complicated cases can take days.
After the deceased is rewashed and dried, cosmetics are then
applied to make it appear more living and create a "memory picture" for
the deceased's friends and relatives. In the United States an oily
foundation is placed on the visible areas of the skin, and theatrical or
mortuary cosmetics are placed on the corpse. Mortuary cosmetizing is
not done for the same reason as make-up for living people. Rather it is
designed to the add depth and dimension to a person's features that the
lack of blood circulation removes. Warm areas, where blood vessels in
living people are superficial, such as the cheeks, chin and knuckles
have subtle reds added to recreate this effect while browns are added to
the palpabrae (eyelids) to add depth, especially important as viewing
in a coffin creates an unusual perspective rarely seen in everyday life.
A photograph of the dead person in good health is often sought,
in order to guide the embalmer's hand in restoring the corpse to a more
lifelike appearance. Blemishes and discolorations (such as bruises, in
which the discolouration is not in the circulatory system and cannot be
removed is arterial injection) occasioned by the last illness, the
settling of blood, or the embalming process itself are also dealt with
at this time. Various funeral homes have different practices as to
whether the corpse will be clothed during the time of application of the
cosmetics, or whether the cosmetics will be applied first and the
corpse clothed afterwards.
As for clothing the body, tradition has been for the decedant to
wear semi-formal clothing (a suit jacket and tie for men; a dress for
women); however, in more recent years, the family often chooses to dress
the decedant in more casual wear (such as a T-shirt and blue jeans),
especially if the deceased was young.
In many areas of Europe, the custom of dressing the body in an
especially designed shroud rather than in clothing used by the living is
preferred.
After the corpse has been dressed, it is placed in the coffin for
the various funeral rites. It is common for photographs, notes, cards
and favourite personal items to be placed in the coffin with the
deceased. Even bulky and expensive items, such as electric guitars, are
occasionally interred with a body.
The foregoing describes the usual process for "cosmetic"
embalming, wherein long-term preservation is not the goal; rather the
natural appearance of the body is paramount.
Embalming Chemicals
Simply explained, embalming fluid acts to "fix" (technically
denature) cellular proteins which means that they cannot act as a
nutrient source for bacteria and it also kills the bacteria themselves.
Modern embalming is not done with a single fluid. Rather various
different chemicals are used to create a mixture called an arterial
solution which is generated specifically for the needs of each case. For
example a body needing to be repatriated overseas needs a higher index
(percentage of diluted preservative chemical) than one simply viewing
(known in the United States and Canada as a funeral visitation) at a
funeral home before cremation.
Potential ingredients in an arterial solution include:
- Preservative (Arterial) Chemical. These are commonly a
percentage (18%-35%) based mixture of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde or in
some cases phenol which are then diluted to gain the final index of the
arterial solution. Formalin refers specifically to 40% aqueous
formaldehyde and is not commonly used in funeral embalming but rather in
the preservation of anatomical specimens.
- Water Conditioner. These are designed to balance the "hardness"
of water (the presence of other trace chemicals that changes the water's
pH or neutrality) and to help reduce the deceased's acidity, a
by-product of decomposition, as formaldehyde works best in an alkaline
environment.
- Cell Conditioner. These chemicals act to prepare cells for
absorption of arterial fluid and help break up clots in the bloodstream.
- Dyes. These are use to restore someone's natural colouration and counterstain against conditions such as jaundice.
- Humectants. These are added to dehydrated and emaciated bodies to help restore tissue to a more natural and hydrated appearance.
- Anti-Edemic Chemicals. The opposite of humectants these are designed to draw excessive fluid (edema) from a body.
- Additional Disinfectants. For certain cases, such as tissue gas,
specialist chemicals normally used topically such as Dis-Spray are
added to an arterial solution.
- Water. Most arterial solutions are a mix of some of the
preceding chemicals with tepid water. Cases done without the addition of
water are referred to specifically as waterless. Waterless embalming is
very effective but not economically viable for everyday cases.
- Cavity Fluid. This is a generally a very high index formaldehyde
or glutaraldehyde solution injected undiluted directly via the trocar
incision into the body cavities to treat the viscera. In cases of tissue
gas phenol based products are often used instead.
Specialist Embalming
Decomposing bodies, trauma cases, frozen and drowned bodies, and
those to be transported for long distances also require special
treatment beyond that for the "normal" case. The recreation of bodies
and features damaged by accident or disease is commonly called
restorative art and is a sub-speciality inside embalming, although all
qualified embalmers have some degree of training and practise in it. It
is on these cases that the benefit of embalming is startlingly apparent.
Many people have unreal expectation of what a dead body should look
like due to seeing many "dead" bodies on television shows and the work
of a skilled embalmer often results in the deceased looking like they
have done nothing at all as the deceased appears so lifelike.
Embalming autopsy cases differs from standard embalming as the
nature of the post mortem irrevocably disrupts the circulatory system
with the removal of organs for examination. In these cases a six point
injection is made via the two femoral arteries, axillary vessels and
common carotids, with the viscera treated separately with cavity fluid
in a viscera bag. In many mortuaries in the United States (such as the
Los Angeles County Coroners Office) and New Zealand these necessary
vessels are carefully preserved in the autopsy process while in other
countries such as Australia, where embalming has been less common
historically, they are routinely excised. This lead to an inability to
properly embalm the deceased for the family and is a common source of
conflict between government pathologists and embalmers there.
Long-term preservation requires different techniques, such as
using stronger preservative chemicals, multiple injection sites to
ensure thorough saturation of body tissues, and -in the case of a body
to be used for anatomical dissection- taking no blood drainage and doing
no treatment of the internal organs.
It should be remembered that embalming is only meant to
temporarily preserve the body of a deceased person. Regardless of
whether or not embalming is performed, the type of burial or entombment,
and the materials used - such as wood or metal caskets and vaults - the
body of the deceased will eventually decompose. Modern embalming is
done to delay decomposition so that funeral services may take place.
