HW 55 - Culminating Project - Care of the Dead

I decided to write an essay (Choice 3) about how bodies decompose if left alone (mentioned in Stiff, but not in detail), in order to shed light on why people embalm, cremate, etc. This was inspired by Eloise's blog post about the idea of not having to be "cared for" after death - simply letting one's body decompose naturally.

The Decomposition of a Dead Body

What happens after someone dies?

They are embalmed for a funeral and then buried. Or they get cremated, and their ashes are put in a container and buried, perhaps spread somewhere by family members.

What happens after someone dies if no one does anything? If they let nature take it's course, and leave the body outside to rot?

Immediately after death, the body will gradually go into a state of livor mortis, also called pallor mortis. This is when the blood is no longer being pumped around the body by the heart, so it settles in the lower half of the body. This stage takes about 12 hours to happen and can help someone determine how long ago someone died, useful information for coroners or anyone else examining the body.  About 3 hours after death, the body will go into rigor mortis, which is when the muscles of the body become stiff (this is why cadavers are sometimes called ''stiffs''), due to lack of oxygen.

The body also begins to lose heat almost immediately after death, about 2 degrees Celsius in the first hour and one degree every hour after that, until the body is the same temperature as it's surroundings. Body temperature is also useful in determining when someone died. After three days, rigor mortis ends and the body becomes soft again (when animals are being processed for meat, rigor mortis is prolonged with "alternating current", in order to preserve the meat).

The next step is decomposition. Bloat, or putrefaction, is the first stage of decomposition. Gases accumulate inside the body, and body parts look bloated. These gases also cause liquids to leave the body through the mouth, ears, nose, and other exits. The gases also cause pressure, and sometimes the skin will tear open. Around this time, maggots and other insects will begin to feast on the body, if they haven't already. This makes the skin "slip" and rupture, causing more gases and fluids to be released.

The second stage of decomposition is decay. The body will lose much of its mass during this period, due to the maggots having fed on it, and most of the fluids having been absorbed by the surrounding environment (this puddle of fluids is called a "cadaver decomposition island"). Any maggots or insects that fed on the body will leave. The soil surrounding the body will absorb some of its nutrients.

The final stage of decomposition is skeletonization, or diagenesis. All moisture in the body is lost, and only the bones are visible. At this point, the bones will be the only thing left in the area that surrounded the decomposing body, as the rest of it has either been eaten by maggots or had turned into soil. Eventually, plants will begin to grow again (if the body was outside), and the bones that aren't taken by animals will fully decompose after 20 years or so (in the meantime, moss or algae may grow on them). Occasionally, the bones will become fossils.

The rate at which a body decomposes depends on many factors. Generally, if the body is exposed to "the elements" - air, water, etc. - as described above, it will decompose at a faster pace. Warmer weather tends to cause the body to decompose faster, whereas colder weather causes it to decompose more slowly. There are also instances where the body is naturally "embalmed", and does not decompose (for instance, if it is in an extremely dry environment, or in a peat bog).

Throughout the process of decomposition, bodies generally look disgusting, and more like zombies than actual people. Since decomposition starts to be visible a few days after death, it is understandable that people would want to reverse or pause some of the effects by embalming the body, or not have to deal with them at all by cremating it. However, it seems like embalming and cremation stem from the denial that a loved one is simply a human who will eventually rot if left untouched, and both methods function as a way to avoid this realization. People like to believe that their friends and family are special in some way, exceptions to biological rules, and that if they are put in a casket that is sealed with super glue they will never change. However, this simply is not true.


 Bibliography

How long does it take a dead body to decompose? . (n.d.). Curiosity.com, Retrieved from http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/take-dead-body-to-decompose 

Stages of decomposition. (2009). Australian Museum, Retrieved from http://australianmuseum.net.au/Stages-of-Decomposition

Kade, A. (2010, August 23). A human corpse post-mortem: the stages of decomposition. Environmental Graffiti, Retrieved from http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/chemistry/news-afterlife-human-corpse-stages-decomposition

Raymunt, M. (2010, December 02). Down on the body farm: inside the dirty world of forensic science. The Atlantic, Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/12/down-on-the-body-farm-inside-the-dirty-world-of-forensic-science/67241/