About Embalmers

Though methods have changed, embalming is an age-old process that centers around something everyone has to deal with at some point: death.
Many people have been in close contact with an embalmed body at some point, whether it be at a funeral or in biology class. What they might not have realized is that not only is there a delicate set of skills involved with the process, but years and years of history. The men and women who practice this art even today are part of a long tradition dating back thousands of years.

Function

Embalmers prepare a dead body for display at a funeral, and also to stall decomposition should the body need to be transported. The goal of the embalmer is to keep the body in a presentable condition, and includes creating a lifelike facial expression and relaxed position. Embalmers often apply makeup to hold color in the face and style the hair to look as it did in life.
Embalmers work largely behind the scenes at a funeral home, and are rarely seen by the deceased's family except in the cases where the embalmer works as both embalmer and funeral director. They are highly trained in anatomy, thanatology (the study of death), and embalming theory.
A license is required to practice embalming, and individuals are licensed within a particular state.
Although the immediate concern of the embalmer is to prepare the body for pre-burial display, there have been a number of cases where the embalming was performed so well that the body remains in a state of non-decay for decades.

History

Perhaps the most famous example of ancient embalming procedures is those used in ancient Egypt. Mummification was a technique that was used to preserve not only the bodies of people but also of animals, often found in tombs standing guard over their masters. Earliest Egyptian techniques date back to BC 3000, and include the removal of organs and the fast drying of the body using salt and natron. Bodies were then wrapped and carefully posed; some were even buried with their mouths slightly open, to give the corpse the chance to "breathe."
There are many other examples of mummification techniques being used in other countries, including Chile and Peru. In fact, the Chinchorro mummies of this region are estimated to be even older than the Egyptian mummies (having been mummified about BC 5000), but are considerably less famous.
One of the most awe-inspiring displays of the art of embalming is relatively new. The Capuchin catacombs of Palermo were officially closed in 1880, but still contain the embalmed remains of approximately 8,000 mummies. Inhabitants were originally meant to include monks and friars, but being interred in the catacombs quickly became a status symbol, and the result is much more along the lines of an embalming art gallery than a tomb. Bodies line the walls, and many were dressed in clothes as they had been in life. Loved ones frequently visited their deceased, kept them in presentable condition, and even prayed with them. One of the last bodies to be interred was of a two-year old girl, whose body still, 200 years later, looks incredibly lifelike. The form is a testament to the skill of her embalmer, her father, Alfredo Salafia. No records were left behind as to how he achieved the embalming.

Time Frame

The time in which a body must be embalmed to preserve a lifelike appearance varies based on the conditions surrounding the bodies. Heat will cause decomposition to set in much quicker than if the body is kept cold.
A standard embalming usually takes about two hours from start to finish. Some cases take much longer, however, including those bodies that have been autopsied or are in need of considerable reconstruction, such as accident or murder victims. All embalmers have some sort of training in this type of specialist embalming.

Types

While most cases involve a body that needs to be presentable for a funeral, there are also cases where the embalmer has a different goal in mind: long term preservation. In cases where a body - human or animal - is preserved for scientific research, embalmers concern themselves with which method will preserve the body the longest, not necessarily with what method will keep it looking the most lifelike. In these scientific cases, a different solution is used to process the body, involving a higher formaldehyde content and lacking the perfumes and colorings of a body prepared for a funeral.

Considerations

Embalmers are often on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Not only are they ultimately responsible for what is the last glimpse of a loved one that families and friends will see, they also have a tragic reality to face every day. Embalmers will come into contact with all sorts of people and all sorts of deaths, ranging from those who have lived a long, full life and died in peace to children who have died from a childhood illness and victims of every sort of tragedy known to humankind.
In addition to being exposed to the deceased, they are also exposed to the biohazards, blood and bodily fluids that are contained within the deceased, as well as having to work quickly and thoroughly with dangerous chemicals.
The job of an embalmer is a difficult one, and takes not only thorough medical study but a person that is able to deal with seeing the worst that the human body was not able to withstand.

Resources

• American Society of Embalmers
• British Institute of Embalmers