How long does it take for an embalmed human body to decompose?

Question

Yes, I know this is a mobid and distasteful question! I've always had a fascination with the whole funeral business (hence, I greatly enjoyed HBO's "Six Feet Under"). I only ask this question because my dear mother died three years ago this month. Her body was embalmed and was prepared for two days' of viewing before burial. I am wondering how long it will be before her body begins to decay. For that matter, her father has been dead for 33 years and her mother for 14. Would their bodies have completely decomposed by now?

Answer 1

It can takes decades, as there are many factors that affect the rate of decomposition, such as how well the person was embalmed, what type of casket and vault they are in, the surrounding climate and so on. I have seen people that have been dead for decades that look fine, and some that were completely decomposed. There are too many factors that affect the rate of decomposition to give a definitive answer to your question.

Answer 2

How Long Does Embalming Last

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How long does it take for an embalmed human body to decompose?
Yes, I know this is a mobid and distasteful question! I've always had a fascination with the whole funeral business (hence, I greatly enjoyed HBO's "Six Feet Under"). I only ask this question because my dear mother died three years ago this month. Her body was embalmed and was...

Answer 4

Body Decomposition Timeline

Answer 5

No, they don't generally decay... not the way we usually think of it..... the embalming fluid is filled with formaldehyde and it prevents mold and bacteria growth.... fatty tissue tends to "melt" staining the satin inside of the coffin.... Several decades ago, an entire cemetery in California was flooded, eroded, and the coffins and their contents were spilled out into the wash. Most of the bodies had extremely yellow skin, as if it had been tanned, according to those who saw them... rather like the Iceman found in the Alps that is now on display in Bolsano, Italy....True decay occurs only when the bodies are buried in dirt, where bacteria gets to recycle the tissues. and since trocars are introduced into the abdomens with more formaldehyde, even the intestines don't really decay. Blood is replaced with embalming fluid under pressure, the bacteria, really don't have too much of a chance... these chemicals are really quite stable..... If this were not done, the bacteria in the gut that was digesting food, begins to digest the person... Hope this is helpful

Answer 6

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/ayhiS

When someone's heart stops pumping blood around their body, the tissues and cells are deprived of oxygen and rapidly begin to die. But different cells die at different rates. So, for example, brain cells die within three to seven minutes, while skin cells can be taken from a dead body for up to 24 hours after death and still grow normally in a laboratory culture. But contrary to folklore, this doesn't mean that hair and nails continue to grow after death, although shrinkage of the skin can make it seem this way. From this point on, nature is very efficient at breaking down human corpses. Decomposition is well under way by the time burial or cremation occurs. However, the exact rate of decomposition depends to some extent on environmental conditions. Decomposition in the air is twice as fast as when the body is under water and four times as fast as underground. Corpses are preserved longer when buried deeper, as long as the ground isn't waterlogged. The intestines are packed with millions of micro-organisms that don't die with the person. These organisms start to break down the dead cells of the intestines, while some, especially bacteria called clostridia and coliforms, start to invade other parts of the body. At the same time the body undergoes its own intrinsic breakdown under the action of enzymes and other chemicals which have been released by the dead cells. The pancreas, for example, is usually packed with digestive enzymes, and so rapidly digests itself The decomposing tissues release green substances and gas, which make the skin green/blue and blistered, starting on the abdomen. The front of the body swells, the tongue may protrude, and fluid from the lungs oozes out of the mouth and nostrils. This unpleasant sight is added to by a terrible smell as gases such as hydrogen sulphide (rotten egg smell), methane and traces of mercaptans are released. This stage is reached in temperate countries after about four to six days, much faster in the tropics and slower in cold or dry conditions. oh and alsoA corpse left above ground is then rapidly broken down by insects and animals, including bluebottles and carrion fly maggots, followed by beetles, ants and wasps. In the tropics, a corpse can become a moving mass of maggots within 24 hours. If there are no animals to destroy the body, hair, nails and teeth become detached within a few weeks, and after a month or so the tissues become liquefied and the main body cavities burst open. Burial in a coffin slows the process The whole process is generally slower in a coffin, and the body may remain identifiable for many months. Some tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, are more resistant to decomposition, while the uterus and prostate glands may last several months. But within a year all that is usually left is the skeleton and teeth, with traces of the tissues on them - it takes 40 to 50 years for the bones to become dry and brittle in a coffin. In soil of neutral acidity, bones may last for hundreds of years, while acid peaty soil gradually dissolves the bones. hope this helped ya best wishes

Answer 7

When people die they start decomposing almost immediately. The skin goes through several changes in color at the moment of death, until finally the blood stops circulating and this is what turns the body a bluish or ashen color.
When deceased are prepared at funeral homes, makeup is applied to be as close to the person's natural skin color that they had while alive.
Decomposing internally never stops. And after several years after burial, the process of decomposition is usually completed.

Answer 8

It depends on a lot of things. If the soil well drained, it is a dry climate? It is hot? It is cold?

The rate and the manner in which an animal body decomposes is strongly affected by a number of factors. In a roughly descending degree of importance, those factors include:

Temperature
The availability of oxygen
Prior embalming
Cause of death
Access by insects
Burial, and depth of burial
Access by scavengers
Trauma, including wounds and crushing blows
Humidity, or dryness
Rainfall
Body size and weight
Clothing
The surface on which the body rests
The speed with which decomposition occurs varies greatly. Factors such as temperature, humidity, and the season of death all determine how fast a fresh body will skeletonize or mummify. A basic guide for the effect of environment on decomposition is given as Casper's Law (or Ratio): when there is free access of air a body decomposes twice as fast than if immersed in water and eight times faster than if buried in earth.

The most important variable is a body's accessibility to insects, particularly flies. On the surface in tropical areas, invertebrates alone can easily reduce a fully fleshed corpse to clean bones in under two weeks. The skeleton itself is not permanent; acids in soils can reduce it to unrecognizable components; this is one reason given for the lack of human remains found in the wreckage of the Titanic, even in parts of the ship considered inaccessible to scavengers. Freshly skeletonized bone is often called "green" bone and has a characteristic greasy feel. Under certain conditions (normally cool, damp soil) bodies may undergo saponification and develop a waxy substance called adipocere, caused by the action of soil chemicals on the body's proteins and fats. The formation of adipocere slows decomposition by inhibiting the bacteria that cause putrefaction.

In extremely dry or cold conditions, the normal process of decomposition is halted, by either lack of moisture or temperature controls on bacterial and enzymatic action, causing the body to be preserved as a mummy. Frozen mummies commonly restart the decomposition process when thawed whilst heat desiccated mummies remain so unless exposed to moisture.

The bodies of newborns who never ingested food are an important exception to the normal process of decomposition. They lack the internal microbial flora that produce much of decomposition and quite commonly mummify if kept in even moderately dry conditions.

Embalming
Embalming is the practice of preserving decomposition of human and animal remains. Embalming slows decomposition somewhat, but does not forestall it indefinitely. Embalmers typically pay great attention to parts of the body seen by mourners, such as the face and hands. The chemicals used in embalming repel most insects, and slow down bacterial putrefaction by "fixing" cellular proteins, which means that they cannot act as a nutrient for bacteria, and killing the bacteria themselves.

In sufficiently dry environments, an embalmed body may end up mummified and it is not uncommon for bodies in dry vaults to remain preserved to a viewable extent after decades, such as the murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers. Another case of this would be the body of Lenin, who was kept submerged in a special tank of fluid for decades, almost perfectly preserved. Bodies submerged in peat bog may become naturally "embalmed", arresting decomposition and resulting in a preserved specimen known as a bog body. The body of Evita Peron was kept perfectly preserved for many years, and as far as is known, may still be so (her body is no longer on display as it once was).

The time for an embalmed body to be reduced to a skeleton varies greatly. Even when a body is decomposed, embalming treatment can still be achieved (the arterial system decays slower) but would not restore a natural appearance without extensive reconstruction and cosmetic work, and is largely used to control the foul odours due to decomposition.

Answer 9

IMMEDIATE