CHAPTER 4
TECHNICAL ORIENTATION OF EMBALMING
GENERAL RULES OF THE
PREP ROOM
 The prep room is a confidential and private room. Only the
embalmers and those allowed by the state should be
allowed in.
 When not being used the prep room should still have
limited entry.
 The prep room should have signage that shows it is a
private area and should have all OSHA warnings.
GENERAL RULES OF THE
PREP ROOM
 The prep room should have a lock on the door or some
type of security plan so that unauthorized people
don’t wander in.
 The dignity of the remains must be maintained at all times.
 All people in the prep room should maintain the highest
moral standards at all times.
GENERAL RULES OF THE
PREP ROOM
 A clean and healthy environment should be maintained.
 The proper supply of chemicals and items necessary for the
embalming should always be available.
 The proper number of tables should be present to
minimize moving the remains.
 An embalming report should be used.
THE PREPARATION ROOM
 The book goes into great detail about the location, size,
physical design, flooring, windows, doors & ceilings, walls,
plumbing, an ventilation.
 The reality is that although this information is worthwhile if
you’re going to build your own funeral, most of you are not.
Most of you are going to work for a funeral home, or will
purchase
THE PREPARATION ROOM
 A funeral home where the preparation room is already in
existence. Answer questions 2 and 3 at the back of the
chapter but don’t study this information for quiz and testing
purposes.
 There is too much other valuable material that you need to
spend your time learning and need to be tested on.
THE PREPARATION ROOM
 I am most concerned in this chapter that you learn the
preparation room equipment and instrumentation.
PREPARATION ROOM
EQUIPMENT
Tables- embalming tables are available with:
• stainless-steel or porcelain tops
• cast iron, steel, or aluminum bases
Historical Injection Apparatus included:
• gravity method (still used in cavity embalming)
• bulb syringe
PREPARATION ROOM
EQUIPMENT
• Combination of gravity and bulb syringe
• Hand pumps
• Air Pressure machines
 The present day apparatus is a motorized Centrifugal Pump.
Terms associated with the pump are:
• pressure- the force required to distribute the embalming
solution throughout the body.
PREPARATION ROOM
EQUIPMENT
• Rate of flow- the amount of embalming solution that enters the
body in a given period and is measured in ounces per minute.
• Potential pressure- the pressure reading on the gauge indicating
the pressure in the delivery line of the machine with the rate-of
flow valve closed or the arterial tubing clamped shut.
• Differential pressure- the difference between the potential
pressure reading and the actual pressure reading.
PREPARATION ROOM
EQUIPMENT
• Actual pressure- the reading on the pressure gauge
when the rate-of-flow valve is open and the arterial
solution is entering the body.
GENERAL INSTRUMENTS
 Aneurysm Needle- used for tissue dissection for the
location and elevation of arteries and veins.
 Bistoury Knife- a curved cutting instrument that cuts from
the inside outward.
 Hemostat (locking Forceps)- can be used to clam leaking
vessels. Dressing forceps are very long hemostats.
GENERAL INSTRUMENTS
 Scapel- a sharp cutting instrument used for making
incisions.
 Scissors- used for cutting and to open arteries and veins.
 Separator- used to keep vessels elevated above the incision.
GENERAL INSTRUMENTS
 Suture Needles include:
•
•
•
•
half-curved
doubled-curved
circle
loopuypt
 Suture thread is made of:
• nylon
• cotton
• linen
GENERAL INSTRUMENTS
 Spring Forceps- used for grasping and holding tissue and used as a
drainage instrument.
 Arterial Tube- come in many sizes. They are threaded to a stopcock.
They are inserted into the artery for injection.
 Stopcock-used to attach the delivery hose from the embalming
machine to the arterial tube.
GENERAL INSTRUMENTS
 Y Tube- used for injecting both legs and arms, or both sides of the
head at the same time on an autopsied remains.
 Drain Tube- metal cylinder to be inserted into a vein.
 Iliac Drain Tube- a drain tube inserted into the iliac toward the right
atrium of the heart.
 Grooved Director- used to expand a vein to help guide a drainage
device.
ASPIRATING INSTRUMENTS
 Autopsy Aspirator- used to aspirate blood and arterial fluid
from the cavities of autopsied remains.
 Hydroaspirator- an aspirating device that creates a vacuum
when water is run through the mechanism.
 Nasal Tube Aspirator-used to aspirate the nose or throat.
ASPIRATING INSTRUMENTS
 Trocar- a long hollow needle used to aspirate and inject
body cavities.
 Hypovalve Trocar- designed for hypodermic treatment and
is used for injection only.
 Cavity Fluid Injector- screws onto the cavity fluid bottle and
when inverted the fluid flows through the trocar into
the cavity
ASPIRATING INSTRUMENTS
 Trocar Button- a threaded plastic screw used for closing
trocar punctures or other small punctures.
 Trocar Button Applicator- used to insert the trocar button.
FEATURE SETTING
DEVICES
 Eyecaps- plastic disks inserted under the eyelids.
 Mouth Formers- plastic or metal devices used to replace the
teeth when the natural teeth or dentures are absent.
 Needle Injector- used to insert a “barb” into the mandible
and maxilla to hold the lower jaw in a closed position.
POSITIONING DEVICES
 Head Rests
 Arm and Hand Rests
• Sometimes these are also referred to as “armatures.”
PLASTIC UNDERGARMENTS
 Plastic garments help control leakage from the autopsied body or
the condition of edema. They include:
• Plastic stockings which cover from the feet to the upper thigh.
• Plastic pants which cover the waist to the upper thigh.
• Plastic unionall which cover the entire body except the hands
and face.
PLASTIC UNDERGARMENTS
• Plastic Coveralls which cover from the upper thigh to
the armpit.