Disease relevance of Embalming

• Forty-three cadavers were dissected after embalming with 10% phenol/formaldehyde [1].

High impact information on Embalming

• During the 85-day study period, the subjects performed an average of 6.9 embalmings and had average cumulative formaldehyde exposures of 14.8 ppm-h, with an average air concentration of 1.4 ppm during embalming [2].
• Conventional body bag tagging in terms of writing on body bags and placing of tags inside body bags proved unsatisfactory and problem prone due to consequences of cold storage, formalin (formaldehyde) embalming and body numbers inside storage facilities [3].
• Embalming is common, and it can create problems for the forensic scientist if a drug has been the cause death and this drug is also reactive toward the embalming fluid [4].
• For those with prior embalming experience, 10 subjects decreased in AGT activity, while 5 increased (p < 0.05) [5].
• We believe the red powder was deliberately deposited for preservative use because no cinnabar mine is to be found within 160 km, because of the large amount (hundreds of kilograms) used, and because its composition, red mercuric sulphide, is similar to that of preparations used in technical embalming [6].

Biological context of Embalming

• Anatomists, technicians in histology and embalming laboratories, as well as medical students during their dissection course are all exposed to formaldehyde, which in many situations crosses the threshold for irritation of the eyes and upper respiratory tract [7].

Anatomical context of Embalming

• O6-Alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) activity was assessed in peripheral blood lymphocytes among 23 mortuary science students before and after 9 weeks in a laboratory course in techniques of embalming [5].

Associations of Embalming with chemical compounds

• The effect of low-level exposure to formaldehyde on oral, nasal, and lymphoycte biological markers was studied prospectively in a group of 29 mortician students who were about to take a course in embalming [2].
• Our results are comparable with or improved over those previously described and demonstrate that phenoxyethanol is an excellent, easily manageable alternative preservative to standard formaldehyde/phenol-based embalming fluids [8].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Embalming

• Ionic liquids in embalming and tissue preservation. Can traditional formalin-fixation be replaced safely [9]?

References