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Preservation of the body
before placement in the coffin.
Suggested
means and authorizations
Definition,
objectives and techniques used in thanatopraxis
Thanatopraxis
and religion
Europe and
acts of thanatopraxis
Country
requiring preparation of the body before repatriation
Suggested
reading
Suggested means of preservation
and required authorizations
The preservation of the body before placing in a coffin may be
performed as follows:
1) WITH
COLD
Use of dry ice (carbon
dioxide ice)
This is the common, traditional technique for preservation at home.
It gives perfect results in 95% of the cases.
Dry ice is applied on different parts of the body, which freeze on contact
(- 96 degrees).
The ice must be changed every 24 hours.
Attention : Some funeral homes use products for freezing food product, not
dry ice, in order to save money. These products do not satisfy the
criteria imposed for preservation of bodies.
No administrative requirements, no authorization required, no police
involvement.
Use of refrigeration
equipment (refrigerated lockers, beds or technical ramps)
Refrigerated lockers are used in mortuaries and funerary chambers.
Beds and refrigerated ramps may be suggested if the body will remain in
the home.
No administrative requirements, no authorization required, no police
involvement.
2) CHEMICAL PROCESS
Embalming (synonyms:
thanatopraxis, formolisation, preservation act, IFT®).
Injection of 4 to 6 litres of an aseptic and sterilizing formaldehyde
product. This procedure takes about one and a half hours to complete.
The preservation is perfect in 90% of the cases.
This method implies:
- no legal opposition on the death certificate delivered by the physician;
- a signed authorization by the family;
- an authorization of care delivered by city hall. The description
of the procedure and a sample of the product used must be supplied by the
embalmer.
- The presence of a police official, a game warden or an officer of the
municipal police force to witness the procedure is subject to
compensation.
Legislation
regarding preservation care: authorization, product and record of
proceedings (french).
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When
death occurs at home, use of a preservation method such as :
- dry ice,
- refrigerated ramp,
- embalming.
to avoid transferring the mortal remains to a private funeral
parlour or having to keep the remains in a refrigerated locker.
This procedure may be recommended, but not imposed, when closing
the coffin is deferred several days.
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Definition
of thanatopraxis (embalming)
Thanatopraxis or embalming consists of
several techniques used to preserve and expose the mortal remains, with
somatic care.
From the Greek "THANATOS", the god of death and
"PRAXIS", practice.
Aim of
thanatopraxis
-
Delay the natural process of decomposition.
- Promote hygiene and
suppress odours.
- Give a more natural
appearance to the face.
Procedure and techniques
used in thanatopraxis
-
Throughout washing to achieve complete external
asepsis of the body.
-
Incision in the middle of the clavicula.
Injection of a formaldehyde solution in the carotid artery and
simultaneous evacuation of blood through the jugular vein.
Other access or evacuation points may be selected by the technician.
-
Elimination of liquids and gas through an incision
near the navel.
Injection of concentrated formaldehyde.
-
Closing of the incisions.
-
External washing of the remains, asepsis of orifices (mouth,
nose, ears...).
-
A sample bottle of the liquid used is attached to the
ankle.
End of the intervention with clothing, make-up and
hairdressing.
Legal
obligations to have somatic care performed
Somatic care must be
performed to transfer mortal remains without a coffin within 24 and 48
hours of death either at
the residence of the deceased or his/her family, or to a funeral parlour
(injection of a formaldehyde compound cannot be imposed if transport is
completed within the first 24 hours).
If transport occurs in less than 4 hours and somatic care
has been performed, an coffin 18 millimetres thick instead of 22
millimetres may be used for burial.
Some countries require the injection of a formaldehyde
liquid before repatriation of a coffin (see below the list of these
countries).
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The cost of these
procedures may be high : request a written estimate and know you
can freely choose which funeral home for embalming care or which
transporter.
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Thanatopraxis and religion
- Accepted by Christian
religion (Catholic or Protestant).
- Tolerated by Jewish religion under
certain circumstances (exclusively if the coffin is sent to Israel).
- Forbidden by Islam (except for
repatriation of the coffin to some countries)
Europe
and embalming practices
High
prescriber : England.
Recent introduction, occasionally
performed : Germany, Spain, Ireland.
No interest: Austria, Greece, Italy,
Malta, Portugal, Switzerland.
Ban and avoidance of these procedures
:
Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg, Scandinavian countries.
(except for repatriation of a
coffin to some countries).
Affections that forbid somatic care
- Anthrax*.
- Cholera*.
- Hemorrhagic fevers*.
- Viral hepatitis.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
- Plague*.
- Rabies.
- AIDS.
- Smallpox and other orthopoxviruses*.
- Any serious septic condition, upon attending physician's
stipulation |
*: the remains must
be placed in a hermetically sealed coffin equipped with a gas
purifier immediately following death at home or before exiting
the health care institution.
Final closing of the coffin is done without any delay. |
Order of July 20, 1998, establishing the list of
contagious diseases forbidding certain funerary procedures identified in
the by-law 76-435, May 18, 1976, amending the by-law of December 32, 1941.
Order from the Conseil d'Etat,
November 8, 1999, authorizing again somatic care for :
- Serious septic condition.
- Confirmed hepatitis A.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Countries imposing somatic care before
repatriation
| ALBANIA |
ARGENTINA |
AUSTRALIA |
BANGLADESH |
| BARBADOS |
BENIN |
BOLIVIA |
BRAZIL |
| BULGARIA |
CANADA |
CHILI |
CHINA |
| COLUMBIA |
COSTA-RICA |
CUBA |
CYPRUS |
| DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC |
EGYPT |
EL
SALVADOR |
GHANA |
| GREECE |
GUATEMALA |
HONDURAS |
HUNGARY |
| ICELAND |
INDIA |
INDONESIA |
IRAN |
| IRAQ |
ISRAEL |
JAPAN |
JORDANIA |
| LEBANON |
LIBERIA |
LIBYA |
MALAYSIA
(except Muslims) |
| MALDIVES |
MAURITIUS |
MEXICO |
MONGOLIA |
| NEW-ZEALAND |
NICARAGUA |
PAKISTAN |
PANAMA |
| PARAGUAY |
PERU |
PHILIPPINES |
PUERTO-RICO |
| ROMANIA |
RUSSIA |
SAUDI
ARABIA |
SOUTH
AFRICA |
| SRI LANKA |
SYRIA |
TAIWAN |
UNITED-KINGDOM |
| URUGUAY |
U.S.A. |
VENEZUELA |
VIETNAM |
Suggested
reading
L'ART DE L'EMBAUMEMENT, an
introduction to thanatopraxis, by Eric Bourgeois. Editions Berger (Canada)
Distribution in France and Belgium:
DG Diffusion, rue Max Planck BP 734 31683 LABEGE
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