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PubMed1997

Fractures of experimentally traumatized embalmed versus unembalmed cadaver legs.

Intact legs from six geriatric cadavers were fractured in a self-controlled study aimed at documenting the effects of embalming on both the soft and hard tissues of cadaver specimens subjected to biomechanical impact research. Upon bequeathal, one leg was removed and frozen while the other remained with the cadaver for embalming. The embalmed legs were amputated later and pre-test radiographs were made. For testing, a rod was inserted in the upright leg such that simulated upper body mass could be applied. A 50 kg cart propelled by a pneumatic accelerator to 7.5 m/s struck the anterior leg midway between the knee and ankle. The cart was headed by an instrumented steel pipe (4.75 cm dia.) coupled to a transducer which relayed impact force data to a Hewlett Packard 3562 A signal analyzer. Testing was captured on standard VHS video (30 frames/s) and 16 mm Color High Speed Film (1,000 frames/s). Post-test analyses included radiographs and thorough dissection. Peak forces were comparable for matched pairs. The unembalmed legs showed greater soft tissue damage (muscle and skin) but generally less bone fragmentation than their embalmed counterparts. Neurovascular components were virtually unharmed in most legs.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Postmortem computed tomography of cadavers embalmed for use in teaching gross anatomy.

OBJECTIVE: To integrate radiology more fully into the first year of medical school, each student was provided with a computed tomographic (CT) scan of his or her gross anatomy cadaver before dissection. We describe the imaging findings of these embalmed cadavers. METHODS: Eighteen cadavers, embalmed within 2 days of death and stored an average of 8 months, were scanned with multidetector CT. RESULTS: The CT findings provided opportunities for enhanced learning and guidance for the dissection. Specific findings were categorized as postmortem and embalming changes, pathological changes, and iatrogenic changes. Image quality was degraded by beam hardening artifact caused by the arms being placed alongside the body. Differences in attenuation between many soft-tissue structures were reduced, compared with living subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Findings on CT scans of embalmed cadavers show significant differences from CT scans of living patients, due to postmortem state and artifacts of preservation.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Characterisation of embalming materials of a mummy of the Ptolemaic era. Comparison with balms from mummies of different eras.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been used to determine the nature of organic materials used in mummification balms. A comparative analysis of samples taken from Egyptian mummies is developed. The results are given in two parts. First, it is shown that the chemical composition of the balm is practically independent of the part of the mummy from which it is taken. This study was done on a Ptolemaic mummy (circa 100 BC from the Guimet Museum in Lyon). Fats, beeswax, and diterpenic resins were the main components: they were found everywhere. Castor oil was also very often detected (in half of the samples). This particular fat is present in the balm inside the thorax but not in the skull. Moreover it is shown that a vegetable tannin was employed. Components indicative of vegetable tannin input (gallic acid and inositols) were found in seven samples out of eighteen, particularly close to the body and on the canopic pack of the heart. Secondly, some conclusions from a comparative study of the composition of balms from mummies of various social levels as well as of different Egyptian periods are reported. It is shown that beeswax was used as from very early times (XVIIIth dynasty). The mixture of beeswax, fats, and diterpenoid resins would appear to be more recent. The balms of three mummies dating from more recent Egyptian periods (XIXth to XXVth dynasty) were analysed. No evidence of a resin, gum-resin, or plant gum could be found. Some mummies would appear to have been embalmed with fats or beeswax. Finally, the entrails canopic pack said to belong to Ramses II undoubtedly shows an embalming process with a triterpenic resin of the mastic type. The adopted analytical methodology enabled us to achieve simultaneous detection of four components of the balm of the Ptolemaic mummy. Analysis of the other five mummies revealed far less complex chemical compositions for the balms. This may be an indication of different embalming processes, although we should bear in mind the question of organic matter preservation through the ages.

Castor Oil↗
PubMed1996

Spinal cord diameters in cadaveric specimens and magnetic resonance scans, to assess embalming artefacts.

It would be valuable to use cadaveric models of cervical vertebrae and spinal cord to assess how varying degrees of traumatic subluxation would relate to neurological damage. However, before such a study may be undertaken, it would be important to assess the degree of shrinkage of expansion of the spinal cord that occurs during the embalming process. This is achieved in this study by comparing diameters of cadaveric spinal cord to that of sagittal magnetic resonance scans of living subjects. The geometric measurements of radiographs in living subjects has been assessed but no direct model for spinal cord injury has been described [1]. If embalmed spinal cord diameters were a good estimator of living spinal cord diameters then cadaveric cervical spines could be used as a model. By reproducing various degrees of fracture and dislocation the extent of corresponding cord compression could be assessed. Our study shows that spinal cord dimensions increase after embalming using the Cambridge procedure [4].

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Improving laparoscopy in embalmed cadavers: a new method with a lateral abdominal wall muscle section.

BACKGROUND: Rigor mortis can be a problem when laparoscopy is performed in embalmed cadavers for surgical training. METHODS: To improve the laparoscopic view, a new technique for managing the abdominal wall with a cutaneous-subcutaneous flap, pneumoperitoneum (14-15 mmHg), and a progressive (step-by-step) bilateral section of the lateral muscles of the abdomen was attempted in 10 embalmed cadavers. The degree of abdominal wall increase was calculated by measuring changes in the size of the abdominal wall after each step. Improvement in the peritoneal laparoscopic view was also assessed. RESULTS: For abdominal wall size, no constant relationship was observed between initial (after creation of the pneumoperitoneum) and final increment (after each muscular layer section). Cumulative degrees of increase in the dimensions of the abdominal wall were the only parameters that showed a significant difference among the four groups of cadavers. Bilateral sectioning of both oblique muscles was sufficient to obtain an adequate view of the abdominopelvic cavity; thus, the risk of an unexpected peritoneal opening during sectioning of the transversum abdominis muscle was obviated. CONCLUSIONS: In embalmed cadavers, the laparoscopic view in the presence of a pneumoperitoneum can be facilitated by a section of the lateral muscles of the abdomen, with a previous cutaneous-subcutaneous flap. To obviate an incidental opening of the peritoneum, resulting in air leakage, preservation of the deep muscular layer is advisable.

Abdominal Wall↗
PubMed1988

Determination of ethchlorvynol in body tissues and fluids after embalmment.

A 54 year-old female expired at her residence. Her husband, a physician, signed a certificate stating that her death was due to cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and released her body to a funeral home, where she was embalmed. Since the deceased had a long history of medical problems and drug abuse, an autopsy was performed and no evidence of CVA was found. Toxicological analyses of body fluids and tissues revealed the presence of ethchlorvynol in high concentration in the bile (112 mg/l). The bloody fluid collected from the heart contained a concentration of ethchlorvynol below the limit for quantitation. Other findings included phenobarbital (32.8 mg/l) in heart bloody fluid and methanol (an ingredient of embalming fluid). The significance of the findings is discussed in relation to embalmment prior to autopsy and toxicological analyses. Ethchlorvynol concentration in the bile is compared to other fatal cases due to ethchlorvynol overdose.

Bile↗
PubMed2003

Determination of heroin after embalmment.

A 30-year-old male died in Thailand after a scuffle. The corpse was embalmed and repatriated to France where an autopsy was performed. As usual in cases of embalmment, fluids such as blood and urine were unavailable and the toxicological analyses was performed on the bile and the liver. An overdose of heroin was determined as the cause of death. A review of the literature indicates that several drugs can be detected in fluids and tissues that contain formaldehyde. This case demonstrates that in embalmed corpses, toxicological assessment is still possible, e.g. after heroin fatalities.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Embalming fluid-soaked marijuana: new high or new guise for PCP?

A growing trend of smoking marijuana soaked in what is purported to be embalming fluid has been reported in the literature since the mid-1980s. This article describes several cases of intoxication, gives regional epidemiological data on this phenomenon, and includes current nomenclature. The authors also analyze a sample of fluid said to be embalming fluid and discover PCP (phencyclidine) and multiple congeners and by-products of PCP manufacture. The implications of this finding are discussed, and the hypothesis that most embalming fluid-soaked marijuana likely contains PCP is considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Exposure of embalmers to formaldehyde and other chemicals.

Seven funeral homes were surveyed in 1980 to determine the magnitude of embalmers' exposure to formaldehyde, other chemical vapors, and total and respirable particulates. Air was monitored for formaldehyde by personal and area samples, and assayed using the chromotropic acid method. Personal sampling revealed time-weighted average formaldehyde concentrations which ranged from 0.1 to 0.4 ppm (mean 0.3 ppm) and 0.5 to 1.2 ppm (mean 0.9 ppm) during the embalming of intact and autopsied bodies, respectively. Concentrations of other airborne chemicals and of particulates were negligible. In preparing autopsied bodies, embalming technique and condition of the body itself appeared to be major determinants of formaldehyde exposure.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1994

Embalming, body preparation, burial, and disinterment. An overview for forensic pathologists.

This article is designed as a basic guide for pathologists who are called upon to examine human remains that have been embalmed and buried for periods brief enough that soft tissues are still intact. Included is a discussion of disinterment laws; guidelines for deciding whether disinterment is warranted; funeral home and cemetery procedures; features of caskets, vaults, tombs, and gravesites; basic burial procedures; and a description of embalming chemicals and the embalming and body preparation process. Emphasis is placed on basic, routine procedures and principles of body preparation, burial, and disinterment, and on the recognition of predictable artifacts that result from such procedures. Although decomposition and skeletonization ultimately occur after burial, bodily changes that occur after burial are not discussed in this article. Disinterment is only sometimes warranted and is best accomplished in such cases through a cooperative effort among those requesting disinterment, the funeral director, the cemetery administrator, and the pathologist. If possible, autopsies should be performed according to law and prior to burial so that the need for disinterment is minimized.

Burial↗
PubMed1989

Occupational exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) among embalmers: a pilot seroprevalence study.

We performed a serosurvey of 133 embalmers in an urban area where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is prevalent. Although we found histories of needlesticks to be common, and the seropositivity rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) (13%) was approximately twice that of a blood donor comparison group, HIV antibody was uniformly absent in 129 embalmers who denied HIV risk factors, and present in one of four with self-described risk behaviors. The risk of HBV infection was higher among embalmers who have worked more than 10 years, relative risk (RR) 16.2 (95% confidence interval 2.1, 126.5), did not routinely wear gloves, RR 9.8 (CI 3.4, 28.5), or are employed in the city of Boston, RR 4.7 (CI 1.8, 12.0).

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1976

Comparative postmortem chemistries of vitreous humor before and after embalming.

Examination for common biochemical substances in the vitreous humor of embalmed bodies indicates that individuals with significant nitrogen retention or diabetics with marked elevation in vitreous glucose will be recognized by standard laboratory procedures on postembalming specimens. The work of Scott et al [3] on vitreous alcohol in the embalmed body has been substantiated with good general agreement found between specimens obtained before and after the embalming process.

Embalming↗
PubMed1998

A simple device for embalming cadavers.

A simple design of a mobile embalming unit is presented that offers better quality embalming and is fairly economical. The technique is faster and consistently more reliable than the conventional gravity aided embalming.

Cadaver↗
PubMed1983

Mortality patterns among embalmers.

In view of recent findings of nasal cancer in rats exposed to formaldehyde vapors, we investigated the proportionate mortality experience of embalmers licensed to practice in New York State. Mortality was significantly elevated for cancers of the skin and colon and for arteriosclerotic heart disease, whereas significant deficits were seen in mortality from respiratory diseases and accidents. Respiratory cancer mortality was not excessive and no deaths were attributed to nasal cancer. Mortality was significantly elevated for cancers of the skin, kidney, and brain among those licensed only as embalmers, whereas mortality patterns were unremarkable among those licensed also as funeral directors (and presumably less exposed to formaldehyde) These preliminary results indicate the need for occupational cohort studies to clarify the carcinogenic potential of formaldehyde.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Surgical procedures in mouth, jaw and facial surgery in Thiel embalmed body donors].

METHODS: This study investigates whether human cadavers embalmed according to Thiel can be used for research and education in oral-maxillo-facial surgery. Different surgical approaches were tested on such cadavers. The usability of the specimen was judged jointly by anatomists and surgeons. Color, structure, and consistency of the different tissues were comparable to vital conditions. Thiel's embalming technique applied to human cadavers provides an optimal basis for research and for basic and postgraduate medical education.

Curriculum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The use of lightly embalmed (fresh tissue) cadavers for resident laparoscopic training.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The value of a cadaver training program in laparoscopic surgery has rarely been studied. As there is a dearth of cadaver training programs, it is important to evaluate them. The goal of this study was to estimate if our cadaver training program significantly and relatively rapidly taught residents laparoscopic surgical skills. DESIGN: Observational, timed comparative study (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). SETTING: University of Louisville School of Medicine, Fresh Tissue Laboratory, Louisville, KY. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-nine obstetric/gynecology residents (15 postgraduate year PGY 2 and 14 PGY 3) participated in the study. INTERVENTION: During 5 half days, we compared the performance of each postgraduate year (PGY) 2 and PGY 3 obstetric/gynecology resident to his or her own results on five outcome skills before and after training in lightly embalmed cadavers. The testing was performed at the beginning and at the end of the week so that all improvement was secondary only to the training experience with the cadaver. Residents were assessed using laparoscopic techniques in a physical-reality simulator for three outcomes: bead transfer time, number of beads transferred, and suturing time on a stuffed vinyl glove and in two specific areas of the cadaver pelvis, with one slightly more difficult than the other. Assessment of suturing time was made on the two distinct tasks using the embalmed cadavers. Although the number of residents was relatively small, it covered two levels for one year. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The residents were assessed on a simulator before and after laparoscopic surgical training on the cadaver. The median decrease in bead transfer time (task I, simulator) was 38.5 seconds (p=.02); 69% of the residents showed some reduction in time to complete this task. The median increase in the number of beads transferred (task II, simulator) was 2.5 beads (p=.0001); 72.4% of the residents transferred at least one more bead after training. The median decrease in suture time (task III, simulator) was 63.5 seconds (p=.001); 79.3% of the residents performed this task more quickly after training. The median decrease in suture time (task IV, cadaver) was 54.5 seconds (p=.001); 72.4% of the residents showed improved performance on this task after training. The median reduction in suture time (task V, cadaver) was 53.5 seconds (p<.001); 82.8% of the residents completed this task more quickly after training. CONCLUSIONS: This cadaver surgical training program appeared to significantly improve laparoscopic surgical techniques in PGY 2 and PGY 3 obstetric/gynecology residents in a relatively short time. This model teaches residents specific training in the handling and manipulation of tissue as well as practice in surgical techniques for adnexal surgery, pelvic dissection, laparoscopic hysterectomy, and dissection within the space of Retzius that is not possible with mechanical trainers.

Cadaver↗
PubMed2005

Stability of ferruginous bodies in human lung tissue following death, embalmment, and burial.

The identification of asbestos bodies in tissue sections is an indicator of past exposure to longer asbestos fibers. These structures are formed in lung tissue as a consequence of interactions with pulmonary macrophages resulting in the deposition of a ferroprotein (ferruginous) coating on the fiber. While the process of ferruginous body formation is known to take months in animal tissue, there is no published information on the stability of ferruginous bodies in tissue following death. The material assessed in the present study was obtained from lung material collected from an exhumed body approximately 8(1/2) mo after death, embalmment, and burial. Tissue sections were reviewed for the presence of asbestos bodies. Additional pieces of lung tissue were digested, with the digestate being evaluated by light microscopy for ferruginous bodies and by electron microscopy for uncoated asbestos fibers and core analysis of asbestos bodies. Classical ferruginous (asbestos) bodies were found in abundance in the tissue sections including in areas with fibrosis. The levels of uncoated asbestos fibers and classical appearing ferruginous bodies (asbestos bodies) were consistent with occupational levels of tissue burden. The data from this study indicate that ferruginous bodies remain morphologically stable within the tissue for months following death, embalmment, and burial. Thus the lung tissue from this exhumed individual was usable not only to pathologically confirm asbestosis but also to provide quantitative data of occupational exposure to asbestos.

Aged, 80 and over↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Extraction, identification and quantitation of succinylcholine in embalmed tissue.

Succinylcholine, a bis-quaternary ammonium compound, was extracted from embalmed tissues as an ion-pair with hexanitrodiphenylamine in methylene chloride. The evaporated ion-pair residue is demethylated with sodium benzenethiolate. The tertiary amine formed is identified and quantitated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) utilizing a 25 meter glass capillary column coated with SE 52. Identification is accomplished by retention time and mass spectrometry. Quantitation is performed after the addition of deuterated succinylcholine as an internal standard by focusing the mass spectrometer on m/z 58 (for demethylated succinylcholine) and m/z 62 (for the internal standard). The method is applied to the quantitation of succinylcholine from the embalmed kidney, liver, and muscle of rats injected i.m. with 10-200 mg/kg. After six months of storage, the succinylcholine can still be identified and quantitated with highest concentrations found in the muscle injection site. Concentrations as low as 5 ng/g are easily detected.

Animals↗