Chapter V: Conclusion (3)

The bowels must then be carefully displaced, and all fluid or serum found between or under the intestines be completely sponged out; the intestines must also be emptied of their contents by the process which has already been given in the first method of embalming; also the stomach, the gall bladder, all the organs, in fact, which contain foreign elements prone to putrefy. The bladder can be emptied of the urine by means of a catheter, introduced into the urinary canal.

All the organs which shall have been emptied of their contents, as also the intestines, the bladder, and the others, must be injected with the following solution, or embalming liquid:

Corrosive Sublimate, 2 ounces.
Chloride of Zinc, 3 ounces.
Alcohol, ½ gallon.

Dissolve the corrosive sublimate and the chloride of zinc into the alcohol; then after the salts are completely dissolved, add

Pyroligneous Acid, ½ gallon.
Creasote, 4 ounces.

Stir briskly with either a glass or wooden rod and the liquid is ready for use. The above solution, which ought always to be prepared in advance and kept on hand, must be enclosed in green glass bottles, well stoppered, and kept in a dark and cool place. Metallic vessels should never be used to hold the embalming liquid; neither the solution employed to bathe the body. A glass or china vessel must be used in either case.

As to puncturing the different organs for the purpose of emptying their contents, the manner for doing so has clearly been given in the first process for embalming bodies, but great care must always be used so as not to perforate any of the vessels of the circulatory system.

The next step is to inject the arterial system. For this purpose a different point for injecting the system is selected from the one pointed out in the former process. By removing the small intestines out, and on the right side of the body the descending branch of the aorta is exposed to view. In its course downwards, the aorta lies on the vertebral column to the left of the middle line, and terminates on the fourth lumbar vertebra, by dividing into the two common iliac arteries. The descending branch of the aorta is then punctured so as to admit the nozzle of the injector; this is introduced into the opening in an upward direction, and the walls of the artery are then tied firmly, but not so as to cut through, around the nozzle. After the artery has been thus prepared, and before injecting, the vena cava must be perforated at a point corresponding with the incision practiced in the descending portion of the aorta where the nozzle of the injector is inserted.

The inferior vena cava ascends _along the front of the vertebral column_, and to the right of the abdominal aorta. The object of severing this vein is to give the blood in the upper portions of the body a means of escape, as the fluid is forced through and up the arteries of that part and returning through the veins forces the blood through the opening.

After the upper portion of the body has been injected with about half a gallon of the embalming liquid, the nozzle of the injector must be reversed and the lower parts injected in a similar manner with about the same amount of liquid; the injection must then be stopped for the space of about three hours, and all the blood which may have escaped from the opening made in the vena cava into the cavity of the intestines must be sponged out as it fills up the space left.

The mode of injecting is also of extreme importance. The injection should be done slowly and steadily, as a strong, sudden forcing up of the liquid into the arteries might occasion a rupture of their walls should some point be weakened from some cause arising from previous sickness, or from lesions as described in a previous chapter.

The injection may then be renewed and more liquid be injected, until a sufficient quantity has been used. As there are no rules laid down for the amount of liquid to be injected, it is left altogether to the discrimination and good judgment of the operator.

The bodies of children and old persons will require less liquid than adults up to the age of forty. The bodies of persons killed by accident or some sudden cause, will require a larger amount of liquid than those of persons who are emaciated by long illness, as, for instance, consumption.

After the arterial and venous system have been thus completely injected, the intestines must be replaced in the abdominal cavity.

The brains must next be removed, and this operation is one which requires extreme caution, as will be seen by the following explanation of the process.

The body is turned on the right side, and, by means of a trephine, a round hole is cut into the back of the skull, about two inches above the cerebellum; the piece of bone thus taken out is preserved so as to be replaced into the opening after the operation is finished. Previous to cutting through the skull, a small incision in the shape of a cross, about two inches in length, each way, must be cut in the skin. The object of this is to leave the bone denuded after the skin has been detached from the bone, and also to bring the parts together by sewing, after the brain has been removed.

Through the opening thus made in the skull, the brain, or the portion of it which can be reached, is easily removed by means of a small, slender spoon, with a long handle, made for the purpose. The cavity thus made in the head is to be filled with the following:

Take two gallons or more of water, and saturate with alum, as much as it will dissolve; then mix with plaster of paris to the consistency of _very thin paste_, and fill the cavity of the brain; some cotton may then be introduced to keep the mixture inside; the round piece of bone cut from the skull is then replaced, the flaps of the cut in the skin brought together and neatly sewed up; if this operation is carefully performed, the cuts thus made cannot be perceived under the hair.

Great caution should be exercised while removing the brain, in not wounding any of the veins and arteries which are inside that part of the skull, and with a little care this can be easily avoided.

The body is then turned again on the back, in the former position, and all the cavities in the thorax and the abdomen, between and under the intestines, the liver, the lungs and the heart, must be well cleaned and dried with a sponge of all liquid or serum that might be found; pulverize some tannic acid into fine powder, and sprinkle heavily around and between the organs of the thorax and the abdomen; the sternum is then replaced over the thoracic opening, the flaps of the skin temporarily brought back over the abdomen, and the body, being enveloped in a sheet or some linen cloth, well saturated with the _lotion for the face_ as given in the first part of this chapter.

The face, hands, feet, in fact every inch of the surface of the body, above and under, is to be covered with the cloth, tightly wrapped around it and well saturated as above directed.

The body must be kept in this condition for about twelve hours, when the cloth is to be removed; the sternum is then raised again and the skin over the abdomen thrown back; a mixture of plaster of paris and alum, prepared as described above, is then poured over the whole of the thoracic and abdominal viscera, being careful to fill completely all the interstices existing between and under the different organs and the intestines.

This composition, or cement, must be brought up to a level with the ribs in the thorax, and cover the viscera in the abdomen; after the cement is set, or nearly so, sprinkle a plentiful quantity of powdered tannic acid on the top of it.

Then bring the sternum down to its proper place between the ribs, and also the internal fascia of the abdomen over the viscera; and last, the flaps of the skin are brought together and neatly sewed up, taking a stitch alternately under and above the skin. Should the mouth have a tendency to remain open, or the lips be too far apart, sew the lips together with surgeon silk, passing the needle up inside of the lip, near the gums, also through the nether lip in a similar manner, from one corner of the mouth to the other, where the last stitch can be tied up in a slip knot.

Before the mouth is sewed up it is always necessary to fill the inside of the mouth with cotton, well saturated with embalming fluid. In case a great number or all the back teeth be missing, which might cause a sinking of the cheeks, and thereby to a great extent disfigure the body, introduce some cotton, prepared as above, between the gums and the cheeks; it will give the body an appearance more natural, and less emaciated. This rule ought to be applied not only in embalming, but also at ordinary times. When laying out a corpse, the mourners and friends of the family will always appreciate anything of the kind, which tends to beautify the remains and divest death of its hideousness.

The nostrils must also be filled with the same composition of alum and plaster of paris; let the cement be thin enough in this case, so it may be injected into the _nasal fossea_ by means of an India rubber syringe, until the nostrils are completely full; then hold it in place with some cotton wads saturated with embalming fluid.

After the body has been so far prepared, it remains to encase it into a transparent and elastic covering, which will prevent the attacks from the atmosphere, and, at the same time, render the body impervious to moisture. For this purpose, procure from some first-class druggist some Canada balsam (it must be fresh and perfectly colorless, as it is prone to grow thick and yellow in time); then procure a vessel—a glass jar with large mouth should be preferred; this jar should be large enough to hold twice the amount of Canada balsam on hand; bring the jar near the fire, if it is in winter, and submit the balsam to a gentle heat until it is liquefied; so soon as the balsam has attained the consistency of thin honey, add to it the same amount of the best spirits of turpentine that can be obtained, and stir with a glass rod until the balsam and turpentine have been thoroughly mixed; then apply the mixture on the body by means of a camels-hair brush, very wide, and similar in shape to the brushes generally employed for moistening the paper used in copying letters.

A single thin layer of this mixture is quite sufficient, and should be evenly applied to any part of the body, where the growth of hair is not sufficient to exclude the approach of the atmosphere.

It will require but a very short time for this varnish to dry, and then the body will be ready for either burial in a crypt, easy of access, or for transportation to some foreign country.

In the course of time the organic tissues will dry and desiccate, the bony prominent parts of the joints may become more angulous, the skin may assume a slightly yellow tinge, but the features will always be natural and recognizable; the skin will never shrivel up and shrink back, exposing the teeth, as is generally the case with the Egyptian mummies; and, above all, putrefaction with all its repulsive hideous accessories, will never take place; nor will noxious gases or offensive odors be emitted.

A wooden casket will also be found preferable to a metallic one, as the free admission of air will favor the drying up of the tissues and the absorption of whatever little moisture which might find its way out of the only opening not hermetically sealed—the mouth.

Undertakers will find this process to be, without any exception, the best method of embalming ever employed; bodies prepared as above can be shipped to the most distant points across the seas; or, can be preserved for an indefinite period of time in some family vault, where the surviving members can at any time obtain a vision of the body without having their sensibilities shocked by the horrible picture of slowly decomposing animal matter.

It must not be forgotten, that, if the above process is slow, long and tedious, requiring a good deal of labor and delicate handling, the results obtained are equally important, and the compensation commensurate with the magnitude of the undertaking.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS.

_Sternum._—One of the bones of the thorax; is situated in the middle line in the front of the chest, and is oblique in direction, the superior end lying within a few inches of the vertebral column, the inferior being projected forward so as to be placed at a considerable distance from the spine. The bone is flat or slightly concave in front, and marked by five transverse lines, which indicate its original sub-division into six pieces. It is convex behind, broad and thick above, where it presents a concave border, and narrow at its junction with the middle piece. It is divided into the superior piece or manubrium, the middle piece or body, and the inferior piece, which is the smallest of the three, and varies in appearance, being sometimes pointed, at other times broad and thin, and again, at other times, perforated by a round hole. The seven true ribs are attached at each side of the sternum by means of the costal cartilage.

_Abdominal Region._—The abdomen is the inferior cavity of the trunk of the body; it is bounded in front and at the sides by the lower ribs and abdominal muscles, above by the diaphragm, and below by the pelvis, and contains the alimentary canal, the organs subservient to digestion, viz.: the liver, pancreas and spleen, and the organs of excretion, the kidneys and the supra-renal capsules.

The abdomen may be divided into three regions; in the upper region will be seen the liver, extending across from the right to the left side, the stomach and spleen on the left, and the pancreas and duodenum behind; in the middle region is the transverse part of the colon, with the upper part of the ascending and descending colon, omentum, small intestines, mesentery, and behind, the kidneys and supra-renal capsules; in the inferior region is the lower part of the omentum and small intestines, ascending and descending colon, and ureters.

_Fascia_ (from fascia, a bandage) is the name assigned to laminæ of various extent and thickness, which are distributed through different regions of the body for the purpose of investing or protecting the softer or more delicate organs. From a consideration of their structure, these fasciæ may be arranged into two groups: areolo-fibrous fascia, and aponeurotic fascia.

The areolo-fibrous fascia is best illustrated by the common subcutaneous investment of the entire body, the superficial fascia. This structure is situated immediately beneath the integument over every part of the frame, and is the medium of connexion between that layer and the deeper parts; it is composed of areolar and elastic tissues, and contains an abundance of adipose cells. The fat, being a bad conductor of caloric, serves to retain the warmth of the body, while it forms at the same time a yielding tissue, through which minute vessels and nerves pass to the skin without incurring the risk of obstruction from injury or pressure.

The aponeurotic fascia is the strongest kind of investing membrane; it is composed of tendinous fibres running parallel with each other and connected by other fibres of the same kind passing in different directions, together with areolar tissue and fine elastic fibres. In the limbs, it constitutes the deep fascia, inclosing and forming distinct sheaths to all the muscles and tendons. It is thick on the outer and least protected side of the limb, and thinner at its inner side.

The _Skin_ is the exterior investment of the body, which it serves to cover and protect. It is continuous at the aperture of the internal cavities with the lining membrane of those cavities, the internal skin or mucous membrane, and is composed essentially of two layers—derma and epidermis. The derma or cutis is chiefly composed of areola-fibrous tissues, besides which it has entering in its structure elastic tissues and smooth muscular fibre, together with blood vessels and nerves. The epidermis or cuticle (scarf-skin) is a product of the derma, which it serves to envelop and defend. That surface of the epidermis which is exposed to the influence of the atmosphere and exterior sources of injury is hard and horny in texture, while that which lies in contact with the under layer is soft and cellular.

_Viscera._—The viscera of the human body are situated in the three great cavities—cranio-spinal, thorax and abdomen. The viscera of the cranio-spinal cavity are the brain, with the spinal cord, and the principal organs of sense. The viscera of the chest are, the central organs of circulation, the heart, the organs of respiration, the lungs. The abdominal viscera admit of a sub-division into those which properly belong to that cavity, viz.: the alimentary canal, the liver, pancreas, spleen and kidneys; and those of the pelvis, the bladder and the internal organs of generation.

_Cartilage._—In the structure of joints, cartilages serve the double purpose of a connecting and separating medium; in the former capacity possessing great strength; in the latter, smoothness and elasticity. For instance, the costal cartilages unite the ribs with the sternum and form the point of separation by the knife, when it is desired to raise the sternum, as in the preceding process of embalming.

_Gall Bladder_ is the reservoir of the bile; it is a sac situated in a fosse on the under surface of the right lobe of the liver.

_Pancreas._—It is a long, flattened, conglomerate gland; it is about six inches in length, and is situated transversely across the posterior wall of the abdomen and behind the stomach.

_Supra-Renal Capsules_ are two small, yellowish and flattened bodies surmounting the kidneys, and inclining inwards and towards the vertebral column.

_Kidneys_ are the secreting organs of the urine; they are situated in the lumbar region, and at each side of the vertebral column.

_Pelvis._—The cavity of the pelvis is that portion of the great abdominal cavity which is included between the bones of the pelvis. The viscera of the pelvis in the male are the urinary bladder, prostrate gland and rectum.

_Bladder._—It is a hollow, membranous viscus, triangular and flattened against the pubes when empty, ovoid when distended, and in front of and upon the rectum.

_Circle of Willis._—The communications established between the anterior cerebral arteries in front and the internal cavities and posterior cerebral arteries behind, by the communicating arteries, constitute the remarkable vascular communication at the base of the brain called the circle of Willis.

OF ANIMAL CHEMISTRY.