A Mortician Tells What It's Like To Work With Dead Bodies Every Day (2024)

FAQs

Do morticians work with dead bodies? ›

An embalmer is someone who prepares bodies for burial by sanitizing and preserving them. A mortician is someone who works with the bereaved, helps plan funerals, and oversees the burial process.

Morticians or undertakers prepare a deceased's remains for funerals. They may cremate or preserve the body, making it presentable with makeup, clothing, and hair styling techniques. They assist with urn or casket selection and transport the body to and from the funeral home.

Forensic pathologists practice medicine in the finest tradition of preventive medicine and public health by making the study of the dead benefit the living.

Before the embalming begins, the body is washed in a disinfectant solution. Limbs are massaged to relieve the stiffening of the joints and muscles. Any necessary shaving would also take place at this time. Your loved ones eyes are closed using glue or plastic eye caps that sit on the eye and hold the eyelid in place.

If you are afraid, have someone accompany you to the casket. When viewing the body, it is totally okay to touch the hand of your loved one or even give a kiss on the cheek. However, you should avoid attempting to hug the body. The body will feel cold to the touch.

A small incision is made just above the navel, and a long needle called a trocar is placed inside the abdominal and thoracic cavities of the remains. The funeral director aspirates both the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Aspiration is the removal of blood and other bodily fluids, through suction.

This means that, with the right training and education, you can earn upwards of six figures over the length of your funeral service career. There is job security in this field.

What Do Funeral Homes Do with the Blood from the Dead Body? The funeral home drains off the blood via the veins. They then send the blood and other fluids such as lymph into the municipal sewage system. In turn, the waste disposal officers treat these fluids before entering the town's wastewater system.

"I remove your tongue during an autopsy. We need to make sure you didn't bite down on it, make sure you don't have drugs in the back of your throat." Begin your day with a curated outlook of top news around the world and why it matters.

Do morticians empty the bowels? ›

I then puncture the internal organs to drain the fluid. I remove the contents of the intestines, bowels and bladder, too, as these can give off gases and smell. I don't come into contact with the fluids. It's very clean and tidy.

Eyes and lips are not sewn or glued shut. During the embalming process, an "eye cap" is placed under each eyelid and over the eyeball. The eyes themselves may soften a little over time, but the eye cap helps to retain the shape of the eye.

The mouth can be closed by suture or by using a device that involves placing two small tacks (one anchored in the mandible and the other in the maxilla) in the jaw. The tacks have wires that are then twisted together to hold the mouth closed. This is almost always done because, when relaxed, the mouth stays open.

Setting the features is a mortuary term for the closing of the eyes and the mouth of a deceased person such that the cadaver is presentable as being in a state of rest and repose, and thus more suitable for viewing.

Because of the cremation chamber's high heat, some bodies go into what's called a pugilistic stance, meaning the elbows, knees, and fists clench from dehydration due to the extreme heat. The pugilistic stance may make the body appear shorter or stiffer, but it will not make the body sit up.

In most cases, local governments use direct cremation to dispose of unclaimed bodies and the cremains are stored for a set period of time. After being stored the cremains may be scattered. The Cremation Society of North America has estimated that there are currently 2 million unclaimed cremated remains in the U.S.

A mixture of these chemicals is known as embalming fluid, and is used to preserve deceased individuals, sometimes only until the funeral, other times indefinitely. Typical embalming fluid contains a mixture of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, methanol, humectants and wetting agents, and other solvents that can be used.

Coroners are trained pathologists who use their knowledge of anatomy and their practical skills to examine bodies and provide the cause of death to the police. Coroners typically work for the local government and are hired or appointed to their official position.

The oral and nasal cavities are swabbed clean, checked for any purge material, then the throat area is packed with cotton. A common method of mouth closure is via needle injector. A needle with a barbed tip and with a wire attached is driven into the maxilla, behind the teeth, and another driven into the mandible.