By
Carrah Bechtel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Iserson writes book teaching public about organ donation, embalming
Rigor. Putrescine. Skin slip.
These are not the latest fragrances from the local cosmetics counter. These are processes in the putrefaction stage of death.
In his new book, "Death to Dust," University Medical Center doctor Kenneth Iserson outlines the stages and cultural history of the death process for both medical professionals and the general public.
"I wrote the book for two reasons," said Iserson. "To promote organ and tissue donation and to provide the general public with information about embalming."
Iserson found that embalming is a highly secretive practice. He had difficulty finding information for his research and to this day cannot name who he calls his "deep throat" sources. This knowledge is strictly reserved for people in the mortuary sciences.
The United States and Canada are the only major industrialized nations that embalm their dead, and people west of the Mississippi tend to be cremated more than people who live east, Iserson said.
It is important for families to understand that after tissue and organs have been removed, a person can still have an open casket memorial service, Iserson said. The organs from one body have the ability to help over 70 people, he added.
Anything from organs to eyes, to skin and bones can be used to save others. Only people who are pronounced "dead by brain criteria," or brain dead, can have their organs and tissue harvested.
Iserson said that it is very important for people to inform their families about their post-mortem wishes because the decision is ultimately up to them, even if the deceased had registered as an organ donor.
Families hold on to the idea that the body will suffer when the organs are removed or be mutilated in some way, Iserson said.
Iserson's book is a reference guide about death and provides step-by-step information about embalming and autopsy procedures, although he said some of the details outlining the stages of the body's decay are graphic.
Rigor, more commonly known as rigor mortis, begins in the jaw and moves down the rest of the body, stiffening the muscles. This process can take up to six hours and lasts up to 84 hours depending on the temperature of the surrounding environment.
Putrescine and cadaverine are the two chemicals produced by the body during putrefaction, or decomposition. Decomposition is most dramatically indicated by a foul smell - the result of bacterial gasses from the intestines seeping through the rest of the body. The gasses also contribute to bloating, the ejection of organs and fluids through orifices, and the change in flesh color from green to purple to black.
Finally, seven days after death, the process of skin slip begins. The top layer of skin becomes extremely fragile and responds to any pressure by coming off in large sheets.
Iserson added that the 19th-century fears of premature burials provide a logical explanation as to why embalming is recommended today.
"Very simply," said Iserson, "if you're being embalmed, you aren't alive."
