WEBVTT - What  Happens to Blood During the Embalming Process?

0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.560
<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is sponsored by Harry's dot Com. Get a

0:00:02.560 --> 0:00:04.840
<v Speaker 1>great shaving experience for a fraction of the price. The

0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.520
<v Speaker 1>quality of the shave is so important that Harry's purchased

0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:10.039
<v Speaker 1>the factory that makes their blades. Fifteen dollars gets you

0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:12.799
<v Speaker 1>a set that includes a handle, three blades, and shave cream.

0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:15.280
<v Speaker 1>Go to Harry's dot com use the code brain stuff

0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:18.640
<v Speaker 1>to say five dollars off your first purchase. Welcome to

0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.360
<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff from how Stuff works dot com where smart happens.

0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:26.439
<v Speaker 1>This podcast is brought to you by Audible dot com,

0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:30.040
<v Speaker 1>the Internet's leading provider of spoken word entertainment. Get a

0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:32.920
<v Speaker 1>free audio book download of your choice when you sign

0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:36.920
<v Speaker 1>up today. Log on to audible podcast dot com slash

0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:43.519
<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff today for details. High and Marshall brain a

0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.440
<v Speaker 1>listener wrote in with a question this week, and it's

0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:50.720
<v Speaker 1>perfect for Halloween. The question is what happens to a

0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:54.240
<v Speaker 1>person's blood when they are embalmed, which gets into the

0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.680
<v Speaker 1>whole topic of embalming in general and how it works. Now,

0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:01.080
<v Speaker 1>this is not the subject for the week of stomach

0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:04.720
<v Speaker 1>and if you're weak of stomach, please stop listening now

0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.320
<v Speaker 1>and avoid the upcoming grossness. If you don't mind it.

0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:12.720
<v Speaker 1>Here we go. The general idea behind embalming is pretty simple.

0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.440
<v Speaker 1>You want to fill a body with enough preservatives so

0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:19.959
<v Speaker 1>that it doesn't start rotting or bloating or smelling before

0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.520
<v Speaker 1>the funeral. There are two steps to the process. The

0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:27.680
<v Speaker 1>first step is to pump embalming fluid through the circulatory

0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:32.000
<v Speaker 1>system of the body. The embalming fluid is normally formaldehyde

0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:36.200
<v Speaker 1>with some dyes and perfumes added. There's an embalming machine

0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:39.760
<v Speaker 1>that pumps the fluid in. The mortician will cut open

0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:42.319
<v Speaker 1>one of the major arteries to run a tube from

0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.839
<v Speaker 1>the embalming machine into the artery. The mortician will also

0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.040
<v Speaker 1>attach a tube to one of the major veins to

0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:51.640
<v Speaker 1>let blood and embalming fluid run out. All the blood

0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:55.440
<v Speaker 1>flushed out during this process goes into the sewer system.

0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:59.560
<v Speaker 1>There's nothing special done with it. Embalming fluid preserves the

0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.360
<v Speaker 1>skin in the muscles. So the second part of the

0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:06.920
<v Speaker 1>embolming process is major organs like the stomach and testines, etcetera,

0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:09.760
<v Speaker 1>in the abdomen and the thorax. They have to be

0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:15.160
<v Speaker 1>handled separately because they're filled with partly digested food and bacteria,

0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:18.880
<v Speaker 1>and if they're left by themselves they'll bloat. The basic

0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.239
<v Speaker 1>idea is to use a section to fitted with blades

0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:25.839
<v Speaker 1>to cut open the organs and suck everything out. Then

0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:30.160
<v Speaker 1>the abdomen is filled with embolming fluid. Once this process

0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:34.440
<v Speaker 1>is complete, the body will last. It's dressed quoift, made

0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.440
<v Speaker 1>up to look realistic, and arranged in the casket for

0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.760
<v Speaker 1>presentation at the funeral. Do you have any ideas or

0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.960
<v Speaker 1>suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send me an

0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:47.240
<v Speaker 1>email at podcast at how stuff works dot com. For

0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:49.600
<v Speaker 1>more on this and thousands of other topics, go to

0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:54.440
<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is sponsored by

0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:57.000
<v Speaker 1>Harry's dot com. Get a great shaving experience for a

0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.120
<v Speaker 1>fraction of the price. The quality of the shave is

0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.720
<v Speaker 1>so important that Harry's purchase the factory that makes their

0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:04.520
<v Speaker 1>blades fifteen dollars gets you a set that includes a handle,

0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.120
<v Speaker 1>three blades, and shave cream. Go to Harry's dot com

0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.600
<v Speaker 1>use the code brain stuff to save five dollars off

0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:10.440
<v Speaker 1>your first purchase.