If someone is embalmed,how long is their body preserved for?

Question

Once they are buried,do they eventually decompose?

Answer 1

Embalming does not preserve the human
body forever; it merely delays the inevitable
and natural consequences of death. There is
some variation in the rate of decomposition,
depending on the strength of the chemicals
and methods used, and the humidity and
temperature of the final resting place.
http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&fr=sbc-web&tab=&p=embalming+facts&btn=Search&u=www.funerals.org/pdfs/embalming.pam.pdf&w=embalming+facts&d=GnDjViQ8NS3c&icp=1&.intl=us

Answer 2

It depends what sort of embalming was used. For most people for their funerals, they get embalmed with a water/formaldehyde solution. Permanent preservation requires drawing out all moisture, so embalming with water is quite temporary. The length of time you will stay preserved varies on the environment, which also has an effect on how you will decompose. Mausouleum entombment in a dry atmosphere (say Arizona) will result in almost being mummified. Entombment in a wetter environment or burial in alkaline soil will cause the body to saponify (turn into a sterile, waxy substance).
Medical cadavers are embalmed with alcohol in place of the water, and they last a very long time without any special care. Formaldehyde works by sequestering water molecules, but it can only hold onto them for so long and once the chemical bonds break the body will decompose, though less offensively than if the body hadn't been embalmed.
By the way Gwen, most funeral homes charge a very low fee, 75-150 dollars for embalming, and it is very hard work on the mortician's part.

Answer 3

Embalming only preserves the body for a short time so the body can be observed at a wake etc. I personally don't see why it is done. People who follow strict Jewish tradition don't embalm bodies and they bury the body within 24 hours. I think that is much more sensible. The person isn't there anymore anyway, it is just a body, an empty shell. The body will decompose either way eventually and someday even the bones will be gone. Funerals cost too much as it is and embalming just raises the costs even more. I'm voting for a plain pine casket with no frills and no embalming.

Oh, and Lenin goes off display from time to time so they can renew the chemicals etc. And he is specially preserved in a vacuum sealed container, most caskets aren't vacuum sealed so the air assists with the decomposition of the body despite the embalming fluid.

Answer 4

The purpose of embalming is to disinfect, preserve and restore the person to a lifelike state. Embalming lasts indefinitely, it depends on the embalmer, the fluid used, where you are buried, what type of casket and vault you are in, etc. etc. Everyone will eventually decompose though, but every body is different. There is no way to tell. I have seen people decompose within weeks, I have also exhumed people that were dead for 40 years and they looked fine and could have been viewed all over again. And for whoever said embalming only costs $150, no, try between $450 and $900.

Answer 5

Current methods of embalming with hold them for a matter of months if not years. It does NOT, however keep them in the same state as you see at the viewing, however, and decomposition processes continue, but not to the in the same process that unembalmed bodies go through. The skin surface will grow mold and the tissues get brown and leathery.

The American Civil War was when the current embalming trend was started, and in many cases, they used much stronger solutions than they currently use. Exhumations of civil war victims reveal recognizable tissues, such as lung, occasionally.

Answer 6

it depends on the method of embalming and the chemicals used.

the Egyptians used to pull your brain through your nose, put all you organs in jars, they would then cover you with salt for three days to absorb all the fluids in your body, this was to prevent the body from decay after emblaming, they would then wrap you a a series of bandages covered with oil and a waxy substance to prevent air getting into them, and if you see pictures of them they look a little dry but in really good nick considering they are thousands of years old.
Take a look at Lenin he has been on show for years and he looks as if he is asleep. a different method was used on him, [I don't know which] they probably removed the vital organs as these decay first and would rot the body despite embalming.
Nowadays they usually only embalm with a weak formula to prevent decay for several days or weeks.
They did do experiments several years ago using the Egyptians method of embalming and after leaving the bodies of whatever they had used for months and a couple of years in some cases, the methods still worked and with good results.

Answer 7

They start decomposing right away. Embalming only slows it. Usually there are only bones left at the end.

Answer 8

I am not sure how long, but look at Lenin--it has been what 7-8 decades since he was embalmed!

Answer 9

It don't last long, unless like my Mum who reacted to it so we couldn't see her anyway.
Due to the preservatives we eat it takes twice as long for the body to decompose as it did years ago.

Answer 10

i do no longer bear in mind the form of days ever being stated. Edit: you will possibly locate something on the internet, yet i'm uncertain if the Egyptians ever wrote concerning to the form of days to dry the physique and it would substitute for each individual - the extra they weighed, the longer it would have taken.