Mortuary assistants prepare a body for interment by washing the body and replacing the blood with embalming fluid. Why?

1 Answer
Oct 10, 2017

Embalming a corpse is done to forestall decomposition of the body.

Explanation:

The intention is to keep them suitable for public display at a funeral, for religious reasons, or for medical and scientific purposes such as their use as anatomical specimens.[1] The three goals of embalming are sanitation, presentation, and preservation (or restoration). Embalming has a very long and cross-cultural history, with many cultures giving the embalming processes a greater religious meaning.

Source: Brenner, Erich (January 2014). "Human body preservation - old and new techniques". Journal of Anatomy. 224: 316–344. PMC 3931544 Freely accessible. PMID 24438435. doi:10.1111/joa.12160