Corrosive sublimate, 2 ounces.
Chloride of zinc, 4 ”
Creasote, 4 ”
Alcohol, 1 gallon.
The chloride of zinc and corrosive sublimate must be first dissolved
in the alcohol, and the creasote then added.
The small intestines must then be gently and carefully drawn out, and
allowed to lay on the right side of the abdomen; this will reveal
in the abdominal region a cavity, which may or may not be filled
with serum, according to circumstances. At any rate, should there
be any liquid, it must be carefully pumped out or sponged off until
perfectly dry.
The cavity is then to be sprinkled heavily with tannic acid. The
small intestines must then, and before being replaced, be next
attended to. If inflated with nothing but gas, a simple puncture
at different points, so as to favor the escape of the gas, and a
moderate injection through the aperture, will suffice.
If, however, the intestine should be found congested with blood, or
some other substance, the contents must be emptied by the following
method: Seize firmly, between the two forefingers of the left hand,
the intestine, at the lowest point you can reach, and with the right
hand draw the intestine through the fingers of the left; this will
have the effect of forcing the contents of the intestine forward
in front of the fingers of the left hand. After the matter has so
accumulated that the progress is impeded, the intestine must be cut,
the matter extracted, the part which has thus been emptied, injected
with the embalming fluid, and then tied up. This operation must be
repeated until the whole of the intestines, small and large, have
been emptied and injected, and then the whole is to be replaced into
the cavity.
About four ounces of the embalming fluid must be poured over the
intestines, and the wound neatly sewed together.
It may be found necessary before closing the opening to lay a
thickness of cotton batting over the bowels and under the walls of
the abdomen.
Should the lungs be congested with blood, they must be emptied. This
object may be attained either by pressing upon the lower part of the
thorax, which will have the effect of forcing the blood out through
the nostrils and mouth; or else the diaphragm separating the thoracic
cavity from the abdomen may be cut through, and the extravasated
blood can therefore be got out through the opening. The injection of
the thoracic cavity can also be performed through the same opening.
The utmost caution must be used in perforating the diaphragm, as some
of the arteries might be wounded by a careless use of the knife.
The above operation may be performed before closing the wound in the
abdomen or replacing the intestine into the cavity, as it will then
leave more room to collect the fluid which may escape from the lungs.
The lungs should in all cases be well injected, either through the
trachea or by the process given above. The air passages must be
carefully stopped with cotton. The mouth being closed, the nostrils
are about the only air passages which require the attention of the
operator. The eyes, after a few days, are liable to sink in the
sockets, which gives the body an unnatural appearance. Mr. John C.
Rulon, of Philadelphia, has invented a wax shell, which, after being
introduced under the eyelids, prevents the sinking of the eyes.
The arterial system is to be injected, and next requires attention.
Before commencing to inject the arteries, the jugular vein on the
left side of the neck must be punctured so as to allow the blood to
escape. In some subjects, the flow of blood will be very copious, in
which instance the jugular veins must be opened on both sides of the
neck; at other times the flow of blood will be very limited, and even
the opening of the veins has sometimes been found quite unnecessary.
The femoral artery is the vessel generally chosen for injecting, at
a point below the arch about eight inches from and below Poupart’s
Ligament. After the artery has been raised, a small incision is
punctured into the coat of the artery, large enough to admit the
nozzle of the injector, and the canula is carefully pushed upwards
into it as far as its length will allow; the artery is then safely
and firmly fastened around it, and everything is then ready for
injecting.
On the mode of injecting depends, in a great measure, the success
of the operation. With some of the instruments now employed, the
pressure of the injecting fluid is so strong and sudden as in some
instances to rupture the walls of the arteries at some weak point,
and fill the cavaties of the thorax and abdomen; sometimes even the
liquid has been forced in with such force and in such quantities as
to burst the arteries, and, after filling the chest, to pour out in a
stream from the mouth and nostrils.
In the above instances, it stands to reason that neither the arterial
nor venous systems have been properly injected.
The injection should be performed in a slow, regular manner. After
a quart of the embalming fluid (the composition of which has been
given above) has been injected, the operation should be suspended
for about ten minutes, after which it should be renewed in the same
manner, until a gallon and a half or two gallons have been injected.
Sometimes the quantity injected need not be so great, as for instance
in the case of a person much emaciated by long illness, or if the
subject be a child.
The jugular veins must be kept open so long as the flow of blood
continues, but they must be closed as soon as the embalming fluid
makes its appearance. The best manner of closing the veins is by
introducing into the jugulars a small pad of cotton, and neatly
sewing up the opening.
It should be remembered that the cloth moistened with the solution
for the face should be kept on, well saturated, while this operation
is being performed, and even for a few hours after the body has been
dressed.
A body prepared in this manner has been kept, in a wooden coffin,
in a dark and moderately cool place, for the space of nine months
without any perceptible change. After that time the shrinking of
the tissues took place, and the body was slowly drying up and being
desiccated without in the least decaying or putrefying.