When a body dies, it does so slowly. A shot through the heart immediately stops blood flow, and the brain ceases to function a few minutes later. But cells of muscle, skin, and bone live on--dying only when metabolic waste products build up, sometimes days later.
Upon death, the body temperature begins to drop at about 2.5 degrees F an hour. The muscles relax, and the skin sags into new shapes. Blood settles in body parts closest to the ground, turning the top grayish white and darkening the underside, except where pressed to the ground. The resulting liver-colored stain, liver mortis, is most pronounced about 10 hours after death.
Within 6 hours, rigor mortis sets in: The eyelids stiffen, then the neck and jaw, and finally the remaining muscles. (The reason, still poorly understood, is probably a combination of chemical shifts and protein coagulation.) After roughly a day, the muscles slowly relax again in the same sequence that they stiffened.
Meanwhile, bacteria have eaten through the gut. The first sign is usually a greenish patch marbling blood vessels on the lower right belly. The putrefaction spreads across the stomach, down the thighs, over the chest. The skin changes to olive to eggplant to black. The bacteria produce gas that bulges the eyes, protrudes the tongue, and pushes blood-stained fluid from orifaces. That's why coffins are constructed with lids that can burp.
A week after death finds the skin loosened and covered with large, putrid blisters. hand skin can slough off like a glove, taking the fingerprints with it.
A few weeks later, the hair, teeth, and nails begin to loosen, sometimes to fall out. Some of the organs start to liquefy; others, such as the prostate, may remain intact for a year.
Exposed to the elements in the heat of summer, a body can be reduced to a skeleton in only a month. Burried 6 feet down, even without a coffin, skeletonization normally requires a decade more.
2007-11-18 13:00:46
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answer #1
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answered by Menthoids 6
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Depends on the circumstances. If the cause of death does not appear natural a postmortem will be conducted. The pathologist (or scientist as you prefer) will examine internal and external organs to determine cause of death. Some parts will be removed for examination and left out in the final burial or cremation of the ''main body''. Your removed organs could be preserved in formalin for further study or research. If you are with an "organ donor program", the doctors will remove all "usable" organs, etc that can be transplanted into a sick person who needs that part or organ to prolong life or continue living, before burial or cremation.
2007-11-18 13:04:41
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answer #2
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answered by Old Timer 3
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Well, to put it simply, they cut you open and mess around until they find a definite cause of death. These "freak scientists" are called forensic pathologists and the operation is called an autopsy. Forget dying of old age, though; that was taken of the list in '51.
2007-11-18 12:59:52
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answer #3
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answered by Alice I. 2
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The scientists perform an autopsy on you, and if you're an organ donor, they remove your organs, put them in jars, and wait for someone to have an accident and give your organ to them. After the autopsy is finished, you are either buried, cremated, or frozen. People come and have a ceremony for you. Cry a lot and go home.
2007-11-18 12:58:21
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answer #4
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answered by Idealatheist 2
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It depends on you. Options include..cremation, donation of you organs to science, autopsy, basic embalming, etc...In the first case, the body is burned at about a million degrees until there is about a pound of ash left. If you donate your organs, they take them out and then bury the rest or cremate it, autopsy is like on the tv shows, they go through the body with a fine toothed comb then stitch it backup and embalm or cremate it. With embalming, they drain all your bodily fluids and then replace them with embalming fluids. They also stuff all of your orifaces so nothing leask out.
2007-11-18 12:58:58
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answer #5
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answered by jessielynn 2
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Well, if left natural it will begin to decompose or rot. Some people get embalmed which basically replaces your bodily fluids with formaldahyde to delay the decomposition process by at least a week.
2007-11-18 12:58:40
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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When you die the scientists check your body to find the cause of death. Then they allow your loved ones to bury you and your body starts to rot in the place you are buried in unless you get cremated.
2007-11-18 13:04:44
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answer #7
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answered by thaddeuswallstreet 2
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What scientist? You go to the funeral home (or morgue) and get embalmed or cremated.
If you decide to will your body to a medical school for the sake of education, you will be dissected, basically, by the medical students.
Or you can will your parts to go to others who can use them.
2007-11-18 13:03:48
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answer #8
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answered by MadforMAC 7
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I think this question has been asked at least a thousand times before. It depends on who you ask. The Bible teaches that the soul of a child of God goes to be with Jesus in heaven at the moment of death. The soul of the unbeliever dies at the same moment that his body dies. And they remain dead for ever. If you'd like more detailed Bible teaching go to the website listed below.
2016-05-24 03:08:05
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answer #9
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answered by ashlee 3
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you go stiff, you are drained of your blood, formaldihyde is put into your body to preserve you, then when the lid goes on you go to the ground, and you decay, until you are a skeleton,
if your death is suspicious then all sorts of tests are done on your body, organs to determine what was the cause, when, how, to catch who did these violations on your person i would continue enjoying your life, and think less on these matters, because you wont know, or feel it, you will be dead, i dont think of matters of this kind, unless your wanting a career in funeral parlours, or pathology.
2007-11-18 13:03:42
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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