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For the first time, a jar of embalming rejects was studied in search for helminth parasite eggs. This kind of jar was used to put discarded material by Egyptian embalmers during mummification process. Ascaris lumbricoides and Taenia saginata eggs were found in the linen and strip fragment contents of the jar, dated of 2,715-2,656 years ago.
The embalming of male sexual organs follows the development of anatomical and physiological discoveries and the consequent new systems of the art of embalming.
Microbiological monitoring of normal anatomical specimens was done in order to evaluate results which were obtained in a investigation of decay of embalmed cadavera. The process of decay was characterized by massive colonisation with enterobacteria and aerobic sporeformers. Under normal conditions mainly germs from skin and air are cultivated from surfaces of anatomical specimens, but only in small numbers. The number of germs is increased after periods of intensive preparative work. The results show that the main criterion for the microbiological quality of embalmed cadavera is resistency against external germs during course work. This is to be achieved by consequent preventive measures in the dissection laboratory.
To evaluate the potential carcinogenic effects of formaldehyde, we examined the proportionate mortality experience of embalmers licensed to practice in California. Mortality was significantly elevated for total cancer, arteriosclerotic heart disease, and suicide, whereas significant deficits were noted in mortality from diseases of the respiratory and genitourinary systems. Deaths from cancers of the brain, colon, and prostate and leukemia were significantly higher than expected. No increased mortality was seen for cancers of the respiratory tract, including the nasal passages, where an effect might be expected based on animal studies. A parallel mortality survey of embalmers from New York State showed similar findings, with excesses of brain tumors, leukemia, colon cancer, arteriosclerotic heart disease, and cirrhosis. Further investigation is needed to determine whether any of these outcomes is related to formaldehyde exposure.
Phenyl and formaline, which are contained in a series of embalming fluid formulas, are considered to be disadvantageous in some respect. Different approaches were envisaged in order to minimize risks and to maintain a safe and suitable condition of specimens. Concentrations of phenol and formaldehyde in our customary formula were reduced to 4.1 and 0.82% respectively. Quality of specimen, which had been preserved with this fluid, was compared with that obtained with different phenol-free formulas in standardized dissecting laboratory trials. Best results were registered in bodies preserved with a solution containing ethanol, formaline and glycerine (Tutsch 1975). Quality of specimens preserved with phenol/formaline did not fall short of these to a decisive degree, whereas other solutions (Jores 1913; Neumann 1974) turned out to yield less desirable effects. Successful substitution of preservation with phenol proved to be practicable. Nevertheless high cost of alternative fluids prevented the substitution of our traditional phenol/formaline solution at large scale. In addition to results on comparison of effects of different embalming fluids a survey on our experience with consequent low-pressure injection of bodies and with a new storage system is given.
There is recent interest in recovery of periodontopathogenic bacteria from arterial and bronchial tissues to identify a link between periodontal and cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases. This interest could provide a useful clinical correlation exercise for gross anatomy. Our objective was to perform a feasibility study to determine whether these bacteria could be recovered from two sites within eight (4 dentate, 4 edentulous) human embalmed cadavers from an anatomical dissection laboratory. Bacterial samples were collected from the right coronary artery and the right superior secondary bronchus and assayed for the presence and concentrations of the DNA of A. actinomycetemcomitans, E. corrodens, C. rectus, P. intermedia, P. gingivalis, B. forsythus, T. denticola, and F. nucleatum. Frequencies were compared using a Kruskal-Wallis H-test. Correlations between the presence of teeth, bacterial species, and site were determined by a Spearman's rho correlation test. A. actinomycetemcomitans and B. forsythus frequencies were different between the sites in edentulous subjects (P <0.05); the frequency of B. forsythus was different in dentate and edentulous subjects at the bronchus site (P <0.05). Numerous significant correlations were identified between strains of bacteria, site, and presence of teeth. Thus, it is possible for the DNA of periodontopathogenic bacteria to be recovered from human embalmed cadavers. Collection and identification of these bacteria from these cadavers could be a useful clinical correlation exercise for dental students in a gross anatomy class.
PURPOSE: Our aim was to test a published methodology for arthroscopically quantifying glenoid bone loss for its dependability in a cadaver-based anatomic study with 3-dimensional (3-D) computed tomographic (CT) reconstructions of 20 embalmed glenoids. METHODS: Manual macroscopic measurements were made in a standardized fashion. In addition, we marked the center of the visible bare spot in 20 embalmed glenoids with a titanium pin. The shoulder joints were carefully selected for intact rotator cuff, missing capsule-labral deficiency, and absence of severe cartilage degeneration. 3-D reconstructed CT scans were evaluated for consistency of the bare spot. RESULTS: The mean distance from the bare spot to the anterior margin measured manually was 10.9 mm (CT-based, 13.9 mm), to the posterior margin 13.7 mm (CT-based, 16.4 mm), and to the inferior margin 9.7 mm (CT-based, 15.1 mm). Distances were significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: The bare spot did not prove its consistency in 20 carefully selected specimens. Therefore, we conclude that this methodology is not a reliable way to intraoperatively determine bony glenoid deficiency. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We recommend preoperative bilateral CT scans for evaluation of bony glenoid deficiency for exact quantification of the bone loss.
The causes of mortality of 3,649 white and 397 non-white male U.S. embalmers and funeral directors, who had died between 1975 and 1985, were examined in a proportional mortality study. Non-significant excesses were found for malignancies of the buccal cavity and pharynx (PMR = 120) and for nasopharyngeal cancer (PMR = 216). No sinonasal cancers were observed, while 1.7 were expected. A statistically significant excess of colon cancer (PMR = 127) was found and a non-significant excess of brain and other CNS cancer was noted among whites only (PMR = 123). Statistically significant excesses of malignancies of the lymphatic and hematopoietic systems were found in whites (PMR = 131) and non-whites (PMR = 241). Myeloid leukemia (PMR = 157) and leukemia of other and unspecified cell types (PMR = 228) were in excess, while no excess of lymphatic leukemia was noted. Elevations in risk were also found for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, polycythemia vera, and myelofibrosis. Non-whites showed a marked excess of multiple myeloma (PMR = 369). Chronic nephritis was in excess among whites (PMR = 215) and non-whites (PMR = 257). No excess of cirrhosis of the liver was found. Excesses of malignancies of the lymphatic and hematopoietic systems could not be directly related to job held in the funeral industry. Further case-control studies are planned to rule out the possibility that the observed associations are artifactual, by assessing the association between specific work practices and disease risk.
Sister-chromatid exchanges measured in the peripheral lymphocytes of 8 non-smoking persons after exposure to formaldehyde-embalming solution during a 10-week anatomy class showed a small (P = 0.02) average increase when compared with samples obtained from the same individuals immediately before exposure began. Breathing-zone air samples collected during dissection procedures showed a mean concentration of 1.2 ppm (1.5 mg/m3) formaldehyde.
Ionic liquids (ILs) can be used for embalming and tissue preservation. ILs does not cause tissue damage and the tissue colour remains unaltered after treatment. Microscopical morphology of tissues fixed in ILs is of better quality than that of tissues fixed in formalin. Tissue preservation depends on the type of ILs. Best results were obtained with 1-methyl-3-octyloxymethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, the density of which resembles that of water. The salt is nonvaporous and when used as a formalin substitute, it eliminates health hazards in the pathological laboratory.
Zoloft (sertraline hydrochloride) is one of the antidepressant medications used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder. The practice of embalming a cadaver is common, yet it may create problems for forensic toxicologists if the case was not previously suspected to involve drug overdose. According to the Eschweiler-Clarke reaction, drugs containing a secondary amine group react with formaldehyde to give N-methyl derivatives. Sertraline has a secondary amine group; therefore, we predicted that it may react with formalin to give N-methyl derivatives. The stability of sertraline in formalin solution was studied at three different concentrations (5%, 10%, and 20%) and at three different pHs (3.0, 7.0, and 9.5) for a period of 30 days. Setraline and its degraded products were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction using chloroform, and the concentrated extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using electron impact ionization mode. The rate of conversion is rapid at higher pH. Sertraline was totally converted to the N-methyl derivative after 30 days in 10% and 20% formalin solutions at neutral and basic conditions. Therefore, forensic toxicologists should be cautious when performing a death investigation if formalin solution is the only sample available for analysis. This work shows that analysis for parent drug or its N-methyl derivative may provide data that will reduce the likelihood of false negatives.
Several studies have shown that funeral directors have an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). Although there is indirect evidence of transmission of TB from cadavers to mortuary workers, there is only one recently documented case in the literature. We report here another case of occupationally acquired TB in a funeral director, which was confirmed by conventional epidemiology and genotyping. This case illustrates the risk of TB transmission to mortuary workers from routine embalming of deceased TB patients with active disease.
Following our researches on the technique of the priest embalmer in Ancient Egypt, we have copied this instrument and used it on a cadaver, which appears to be as efficacious in maintaining the buccal cavity wide open. Thus prepared, the priest was able to carry out the purification rites.
Excess formaldehyde was extracted from embalmed animal cadavers by vascular perfusion or combined perfusion and percolation with 20% ethanol. The perfusion was undertaken through a carotid artery and the percolation through the serous body cavities for 1-2 h. Nineteen goats were perfused once and one goat and three cows were perfused and percolated twice a day for 3 days. The extracted cadavers were stored in 20% ethanol or in a freezer at -20 degrees C. The mean value of the atmospheric concentration of formaldehyde after extraction was 0.27 +/- 0.05 mg/m3 for goats and 0.39 +/- 0.12 mg/m3 for cows.
Clots of blood, which were found in the cardiac ventricles at an autopsy of an embalmed corpse, were to analyse for carbon monoxide. It was not possible to determine reliably the CO-Hb-content of the blood clots with the known methods. Therefore a new procedure was developed. Carbon monoxide was released by a solution of nitric acid and determined gas chromatographically by a headspace method. In the same vessel the iron-content of the sample was measured after decomposition with atomic absorption spectrometry. This procedure is especially suitable for samples like putrid or heat-clotted blood.
Formaldehyde was removed from embalmed animal cadavers by pumping ethanol (20%) through the pleural and peritoneal cavities of 4 goats, 4 cows and 4 horses. The goats were percolated intermittently for 7 days and the large animals continuously for 72 h. Just after opening the body cavities, samples of air close to the organs were collected and analyzed for formaldehyde using a spectrofluorimetric method. The concentration of formaldehyde in the air samples was in goats 0.45 +/- 0.44 microgram/l (mean +/- SD), cows 0.42 +/- 0.29 microgram/l and horses 0.43 +/- 0.25 microgram/l.
The antimicrobial effect of 3 different embalming fluids (Phenol/Formaline, JORES 1913 TUTSCH 1975) was evaluated from the beginning of the conservation process through storage in a new system (TUTSCH et al. 1971) and the subsequent dissection course. Endogenous bacteria are significantly reduced 24 hours after injection. Later on during the storage period of at least 6 months no germs are detected in swabs from orifices whereas Staphylococcus epidermidis and aerobic sporeforming bacteria were found on the surfaces of the bodies in some cases. The formula of the disinfectant (Phenol/Formaline or Merfen according to NEUMANN 1974) in the storage system appears to be of no significance. During dissection as a rule Staphylococcus epidermidis and a few aerobic sporeformers were found on the surface of specimens, at one time Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultivated too. Swabs from the peritoneal cavity and from contents of the intestine were sterile. Investigations by broth dilution method were carried out in order to evaluate the degree of bacteriostatic activity of the various fluids in use. This method is now routinely used for control of the disinfectants in the storage system.
PURPOSE: The validity and reproducibility of an instrumented dynamic examination method to measure sacroiliac (SI) joint stiffness was tested in vitro. METHODS: Four embalmed human female pelvises were excitated by a pelvic vibrator. A color Doppler imaging (CDI) scanner was used to image the amplitude of vibrations at different sites of the pelvis. Vibrations were applied to the anterior superior iliac spines unilaterally and were received by CDI all over the ipsilateral SI region. Three different stability conditions were created in the SI joints: no intervention, screwed and ligaments cut. Test results were quantified by taking the minimum threshold levels of the bones. The relative difference of vibration intensity between ipsilateral ilium and sacrum at each stability condition is accepted as the stiffness level for the SI joint. RESULTS: Statistics showed high reproducibility and significant differences between the stability conditions. Dynamic testing based on the use of vibrations provides visible and quantifiable intra- and inter-individual differences between SI joint stiffnesses. CONCLUSIONS: This new method is objective and reproducible. Future in vivo application is promising since there are no technical and safety restrictions.