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1. EMBALMING
DIAGNOSIS AND M.L
ASPECT
Dr. Faiz ahmad
Forensic medicine
JNMC,A.M.U Aligarh

2. Preservation of Dead Body
Artificially
Freezing
Embalming
Texidermy
Ancient egyptian
method(mummification)
Formalin preservation
Paraffin impregnation
Plastination
Naturally
• At very low temperature.
• At very high temperature.
• Shallow moist clay soiled
grave,or submerged in water.
• In water or soil containing
antiseptic substance
like,,arsenic,lime etc.

3. Definition: It is a process of preservation of
dead body by treating it with antiseptic and
preservatives to prevent putrifection.
By this process,
1. Protein are coagulated
2. Tissues are fixed
3. Organs are bleached and hardened
4. Blood is coagulated and transformed into a pinkish brown
mass
EMBALMING

4. • Embalming produce a chemical stiffening similar to rigor mortis
but normal rigor does not develop.
• Rigidity in case of embalming is permanent.
• To get desired effect- embalming to be done within 6 hrs of death.
• If done several hrs of death,the body will show mixture of bacterial
decomposition and mummification and will disintigrate in few
months.

5. Embalming is done in:
• Medical College to preserve dead body for the purpose of
education and dissection.
• When the dead body has to be taken from one country to
other or in same state for last rituals.
 Embalming is done by injecting embalming fluid in the
body.

6. Composition of an ideal embalming fluid
Proportion
• 1.5 liters
• 600grms
• 900grm
• 600ml
• 800gm
• 30ml
• 90ml
• Upto10 lit
Ingredient
• Formaline(preservstive)
• Sodium borate(buffer)
• Sodium citrate(antocoagulant)
• Glycerine(wetting agent)
• Sodium chloride(controle ph)
• Eosin(1%)(cosmetic)
• Soluble winter green(perfume)
• Water(vehicle)

7. Embalming Room

8. Embalming Fluid

9. • Sodium borate and sodium citrate should be dissolve in hot
water and allow to cool.
• Add rest of the component and dilute with water to make up
ten liters.
• Allow to stand for few hours and filter.
• A dead body of 70 kg weight requires 10 liters of embalming
fluid of which 10% will be lost through various drain and
purging.

10. For cavity embalming the fluid having the
following composition
1. Formalin _ 60%
2. Methenol _25%
3. Phenol _ 10%
4. Sodium lauryl sulphate _ 1%
5. Mercuric chloride _1%
6. Eucalyptus oil _1%

11. Types of embalming
1. Arterial embalming
2. Cavity embalming
3. Hypodermic embalming
4. Surface embalming
5. Embalminf of autopsied body
6. Embalming of AIDS body

12. Arterial embalming
• Place body supine on table.
• Remove clothing and surgical dressing if any and the body
washed withan antiseptic soap and warm water.
• Rigor mortis,if present should be broken by
bending,massaging,rotating the head etc.
• The nostrils are cleaned and plugged with a wad of cotton
soaked in arterial solution.

13. Arterial Embalming Conti..
• The cheek may be filled out with cotton soaked in arterial
solution.
• The mouth and eyelid shoud be closed.
• If eyebal is sunken arterial solution should be injected into the
orbit and eyeball.
• The head should be elevated 8to10cm and placed on head rest
and feet raised to facilitate drainage.
• Anal orifice and vagina plugged similarly.

14. Arterial Embalming

15. Choice of vessels
• The nearer the vessel to the heart ,the better the
result specially for drainage.
• Single point injection leave the patches of area
unfixed by embalming fluid.
• Multiple site injection used in,,traumatic
death,autopsised case and postmortem mutilation.

16. • Six point injection involve , R/L common
carotid A for head and neck, R/L axillary A for
upper limb ,and R/L femoral A for lower limb.
• On completion the vessel should be ligated to
prevent leakage of embalming fluid.

17. • Each side of face injected separately to prevent
distortion of face due to over injection
• After injection of one artery it should be
ligated before injecting to other artery,
• All drainage point should be ligated after
completion to prevent leak.

18. Instrument used for injecting the
embalming fluid
a) Hand/ foot pump
b) Stirrup pump
c) Bulb syringe:
• This is a manual pump similar to Higginson's syringe.
• Bulb type rubber syringe and rubber tubing at either end.
• Valves,allow suction on one side and ejection on other side
d. Gravity injector:
• It is the simplest,safest,slowest of the injection method.
• Gravity bottle or percolator should hold 10 lit of fluid and raised above body .
• A rise of 1 m gives a fluid pressure of 0.6kg/sq.cm and 2m about 1kg/sq.cm
• Take longer time and distribution of fluid is uneven.

19. Instruments

20. Gravity Injector

21. e)Motorised injectors:
• Fluid from injection tank is forced into the vascular
system using air from a compression tank.
• Prassure and flow rate are controled by device
• 10 litres of arterial solution injected within 30 min.
• Injection prassure is about 2kg/sq.cm

22. Motorized Injector

23. Method of injection
1.Continuous injection and drainage
• The arterial injection is given continuously
• Vein tube kept open throughout injection
• Embalming time much shorter
• Venous drainage and tissue saturation is poor
• Least satisfactory

24. 2. Continuous injection with disrupted drainage
• The injection is continuous with vein tube closed.
• The blood in the vein build up a resistance for
arterial flow which help in better diffusion of fluid.
• Thick blood is discharged when drain tube is
opened.
• Bettrer than continuous discharge and drainage.

25. 3.Alternate injection and drainage
• The arterial fluid is injected for some time with drain tube
closed.
• The injection is stopped when superficial veins swell, and
drain is opened.
• When the flow of blood from the drain tube stop, it is
closed and injection started.
• This process repeated several time.

26. 4. Discontinuous injection and drainage:
• This consist of repeated arterial injection of small quantities at
two hrs interval.
• The total quantiti of injection fluid is in exces of ordinary
injection done at a time.
• Injection is continued for three or four time.
• The venous drain tube which is closed is opened a little before
and open a little after starting another dose of injection.
• This is the best method.

27. b)cavity embalming(closed cavity
treatment)
• Cavity treatment should be done after half to
one hrs,Which allow for the hardening of the
viscera and facilitate piercing of the gut.
• A motorised aspirator if available is better.
• A 30cm long trocar is inserted into the abdomen
throug small incision 5to6cm above umbilicus
in mid line.

28. Cavity Embalming

29. • The trocar is first directed upward, backward and
to the left to pierce and aspirate the stomach.
• Then trocar is slightly withdrawn and pushed up
toward right to pierce right side of heart.
• Next the right and left pleural sacs are reached
by piercing diaphragm and aspirated.

30. • Next several puncture are made in small
intestine , caecum , colon to suck out content.
• The urinary bladder, sigmoid colon and rectum
should be aspirated.
• One liter of cavity fluid should be injected
distributing it evenly throughout the cavity.

31. c)Hypodermic embalming
• Suitable for embalming isolated limbs,body parts
followimg bomb blast,air crush,railway injuries
• Embalming fluid injected subcutaneously.
d) Surface embalming:
• Suitable for burn injury cases.
• Whole body is packed with cotton soaked in
embalming fluid.

32. e)Embalming of autopsied body:
• Before stitching up ,thoraco-abdominal and cranial
cavity is sponged with embalming fluid
• Then viscera properly treated with embalming
fluid,covering and packing with embalming fluid
soaked cotton
• Placed within the body cavity and stitched up.
• If body is already stitched up,removed and re -stitched.

33. f)Embalming of AIDS bodies:
• Concentration of arterial and cavity
embalming fluid is increased.
• Recomended precaution to be taken during
handling the body.

34. Legal aspects of practice of
embalming
• Proper identification of body by near relative is done
before procedure.
• Concent for the procedure should be obtained.
• No objection certificate from police should be obtained.
• Death certificate should be referred before embalming.
• In case of foreigner, Embassy clearance should be
obtained in addition.

35. • In medicolegal cases, it should be done after autopsy.
• Death certificate/P.M report should be accompanied
with the dead body.
• On completion of embalming,embalmer/competent
authority should issue certificate(for local transport
3copies ,and for international transport 5 copies.
• In case of embalming of dead body who suffered from
noticeable disease(cholera,rabis,plague,tetanus
,HepB,AIDS,TB etc)concern authority is informed.

36. MEDICOLEGAL ASPECTS OF
EMBALMING
1. Embalming should never be allowed before
autopsy, it may induce artifact and poses
difficultu in interpreting the finding.
2. Embalming provides chemical stiffening similar
to rigor mortis, so difficulty arise in estimating
time since death.
3. Embalming alter the appearence of body so
interpretation of injuries become difficult.

37. 4.Embalming destroys cyanide,alcohol,opiates, carbon
monoxide thus toxicological analysis become useless or
difficult.
5.Embalming kills bacteria so bacteriologic evaluation become
useless.
6. Due to embalming blood group cannot be made out.
7.Detection of thrombus or embolism are not possible.
8.The dimentions of wounds may be modified by the embalmer
or new wounds may be produced due to use of trocher.

38. THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
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