Embalming Embalming is a mortuary custom, the art of preserving bodies after death, generally by the use of chemical substances. It is believed to have originated among the Egyptians, probably before 4000 BC, and was used by them for more than 30 centuries. Much evidence demonstrates that embalming is religious in origin, conceived as a means of preparing the dead for the life after death. From the Egyptians, the practice of embalming spread to other ancient peoples, …
showed first 75 words of 585 total

showed last 75 words of 585 total
…restore injured facial features or for aesthetic reasons. Embalming methods now consist essentially of the removal of all blood and gases from the body and the insertion of a disinfecting fluid; the viscera are removed and immersed in an embalming fluid and are then replaced in the body, in which they are surrounded with a preservative powder. Most corpses in the United States and Canada are embalmed, and the practice is widespread in other countries.