Following death, a body goes through a series of events that can be predicted with reasonable accuracy.
Those who are left behind after a life has ended are responsible for taking care of the body.
Every year, around 2.8 million people lose their lives in the United States. As the chair of a university's mortuary science programme and a funeral director, I can tell you that while every person's life experiences are unique, what happens to a corpse after death follows a generally predictable series of events. This is true even though each person's life experiences are different.
In general, it is dependent on three factors: the location where you pass away, the manner in which you pass away, and the funeral arrangements and final disposition that you or your family choose.
Immediately following a person's passing away
Death can occur in a variety of settings, including the home, a healthcare facility (such as a hospital, nursing home, or palliative care facility), or the location of an accident, homicide, or suicide.
When a person dies unexpectedly outside of a hospital or other medical facility, an investigation must be conducted by a medical examiner or coroner. They take into consideration the circumstances surrounding the death to decide whether or not an autopsy is required. If this is the case, the deceased person's body is transported to either a county mortuary or a funeral home, where a pathologist performs a comprehensive interior and exterior examination of the body in addition to toxicology tests.
The majority of people do hire a funeral director, although there are several jurisdictions that let families have the option of handling the body alone after it has been released. The deceased person's body is placed on a stretcher, covered, and transported from the location of their passing to the funeral home. While a hearse may be used in rare instances, a minivan is used more frequently these days.
Who has the authority to make decisions regarding the deceased person's remains and funeral preparations is determined by state legislation. In some places, you have the ability to decide throughout your lifetime what you would prefer to happen to your body after you pass away. The majority of the time, however, decision-making responsibilities are assigned to surviving family members or to a third party that you designated before your passing.
Getting the body ready for public display
39.4% of respondents to a consumer poll that was done in 2020 by the National Funeral Directors Association stated that they believe it is very important to have the body or cremated remains present during a funeral or memorial service.
In order to get ready for it, the funeral home would typically inquire as to whether or not the body will be embalmed. This procedure disinfects the body, briefly preserves it for viewing and services, and restores a calm and natural appearance to the deceased person's appearance. In most cases, embalming is required for a public viewing, in addition to certain other scenarios, such as when the deceased individual passed away from a contagious condition or when the cremation or burial is going to be postponed for more than a few days.
When the process of embalming is about to begin, the funeral director will lay the body on a specialised table made of porcelain or stainless steel. This table is designed to resemble the tables that are seen in operating rooms. After using soap and water to clean the corpse, he arranges it such that the hands are crossed over the abdomen, just as they would be if it were lying in a coffin. He covers both the eyes and the lips with his hand.
The next step is for the undertaker to make a small incision close to the clavicle in order to gain access to the jugular vein and the carotid artery. While doing this, he puts forceps into the jugular vein to let blood to drain out. At the same time, he inserts a small tube connected to the embalming machine into the carotid artery and injects embalming fluid into the artery. Approximately one gallon of an embalming solution that is mostly composed of formaldehyde is required for every fifty to seventy-five pounds of body weight. After that, a tool called a trocar is used by the funeral director to extract any surplus fluids and gases from the thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity of the body. It functions in a manner not dissimilar to the suction tube that you may have encountered at the dentist.
After that, the funeral director will stitch any incisions that were made. After doing so, he washes the body once more and pats it dry with towels before attending to the hair and nails. If the body is malnourished or lacking in water, he can inject a solution into facial features using a hypodermic needle to make them appear fuller. If the appearance of the deceased person has been altered due to disease or trauma, the embalmer can employ wax, glue, and plaster to reconstruct the natural form of the deceased person.
The funeral director will then dress the body of the deceased and apply makeup, if requested. If the clothes that is given to him does not fit properly, he can cut it and tuck it in somewhere that it will not be visible. When applying cosmetics, some funeral homes utilise an airbrush; others use specialised mortuary cosmetics or just standard makeup that can be purchased in a store; yet others use an airbrush.
In the direction of a permanent burial spot
In many cases, identification of the deceased must be provided by a member of the family before the funeral home will cremate the body without first allowing the public to pay their respects. As soon as the death certificate and all other necessary authorizations have been finalised, the funeral home will transport the deceased individual to the crematory in a container of their choosing. This could take place on-site or at a location provided by a third party.
Cremations are carried out on an individual basis. The deceased is placed in the cremator while they are still contained in the container. The cremator generates extremely high heat, which converts the remains to bone fragments. After the operator has removed any metal objects that may be present, such as implants, fillings, or components of the casket or cremation container, the bone pieces are subsequently pulverised. After that, he transfers the processed remains into the container or urn that has been chosen. The cremated remains may be scattered, buried, or placed in a niche by some families, while others want to preserve them for their own personal use.
The year 2015 marked the first time that the cremation rate in the United States surpassed the casketed burial rate, and the industry anticipates that this pattern will continue in the years to come.
Before the casket is lowered into the grave during an earth burial, it is customarily placed inside a concrete outer burial container first. Additionally, coffins have the option of being entombed in mausoleums, which are above-ground structures that house crypts. In most cases, a grave or crypt will include some kind of headstone that carries the deceased person's name as well as other information about them.
Some cemeteries include sections set aside for "green" or environmentally conscious burials, in which the deceased person's body is not embalmed and is instead placed in a casket made of biodegradable material. Other methods of final disposition are seen in far lower frequency. The chemical process of alkaline hydrolysis can reduce remains to bone fragments, making it a viable alternative to the practise of cremation. In the process of composting, the deceased person is placed in a container along with organic materials such as wood chips and straw. This allows bacteria to organically consume the body and turn it into compost.
My experience in the funeral service industry, which spans more than 20 years at this point, has exposed me to a lot of different developments. For many years, the majority of funeral directors were men; but, nowadays, around sixty-five percent of students enrolled in mortuary schools across the country are female. The practise of cremation is gaining more and more favour. The number of people who arrange their own funerals is growing. Because so many people in the United States do not identify with a particular religion, many of them choose more casual services.
It is crucial for those who are left behind to say their goodbyes, but I have seen far too many families skip the ceremony altogether and then feel bad about it later. The life of the departed person should be honoured in a way that is respectful and meaningful, and family and friends should take this opportunity to comfort one another and share memories. This will help everyone move towards healing.
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