We all die. But what happens to your body after this? This is how it will live after you yourself have already passed away.
Life goes on
You are dead when your brain has irreversibly stopped functioning. At least according to the definition set out in Swedish law. But some parts of the body still continue to live. The body does not die at once, as many believe. Experts distinguish between the death of an individual and the death of cells.
Strange noises
For example, heart valves can be used for 36 hours after death, and corneas continue to function twice as long.
Quite a few strange things can also happen, such as dead bodies making strange noises, people continuing to think, and dead men getting erections. Let's take a look at some of the things that can happen to your body through different time from 30 seconds to 50 years after you die.
30 seconds
Brain cells are sensitive to lack of oxygen and are among the first to decompose. However, some nerve cells can survive for so long that scientists are not entirely sure whether you are still perceiving something even though you are already considered dead.
The dead keep thinking
Research has shown that brain activity can be around zero for more than a minute, indicating that a person is dead, and then rise to a level comparable to being fully awake, only to then drop back to zero. What happens in this case is still not entirely clear.
According to some assumptions, the brain awakens again to life because the soul leaves the body. WITH scientific point This phenomenon is explained by the fact that a large number of nerve cells emits impulses one last time.
Scientists are pondering whether this might explain why people who are brought back to life after cardiac arrest report light and strong feelings. In this case, they could be conscious even after their heart stopped beating, and they could retain thoughts and feelings even when brain activity was close to zero for a while.
No one knows
This phenomenon has also led to discussions about whether transplant surgeons should wait for a possible surge in activity before proceeding.
“It is unlikely that a person is conscious during such brain activity. But the only ones who have actually come close and can say anything about it are those who have experienced near-death experiences,” says brain researcher Lars Olsson from the Karolinska Institutet.
12 hours
After 12-18 hours, cadaveric spots reach their maximum coverage. They arise due to blood sedimentation. They can, for example, show whether the corpse was moved, which is what forensic doctors pay attention to, for example, when a crime is being investigated.
24 hours
Macrophages are another type of long-lived cell. They refer to immune system. It was possible to track that they can work for another day after you have died, for example, destroying soot in the lungs after a fire.
36 hours
Even though your heart has stopped beating, your heart valves can remain intact because they contain cells connective tissue who live long. Heart valves can be used for transplantation for as long as 36 hours after a person's death.
72 hours
The cornea also continues to live. It can be used within three days after you die. This is explained, among other things, by the fact that the cornea is very close to the surface, in direct contact with the air and receiving oxygen from it.
96 hours
When a body begins to decompose, gases are produced. They can cause strange and unpleasant sounds such as moaning and muffled crying. It happened that this phenomenon very frightened people who even thought that the dead man had come to life.
After a few days, dirty green spots appear on the body. They often begin to spread from the abdomen - due to bacteria. Well, then they spread throughout the body.
An erection occurs
Although the likelihood of this happening is very low, cases of dead men having erections have also been reported. This is because the blood can collect into clots that still contain nutrients and oxygen.
Blood provides nutrition to cells that are receptive to calcium. Certain muscles are activated by calcium, and in men, this can cause a particular muscle to contract and result in an erection.
Hair and nails grow
Henrik Druid, a forensic physician and legal scientist, performed approximately 6,000 autopsies. According to him, many people believe that hair and nails continue to grow after a person has died. But this is a misconception.
“The skin loses fluid, shrinks and tightens. It looks like your nails and hair are sticking out more than before. But the fact that they are growing is an illusion.”
Liquid leakage
After a couple of weeks dead bodies usually already badly damaged.
“Then you can see signs of severe decomposition. For example, the body turns brownish-green, fluid-filled blisters appear on the skin that may burst, and fluid may leak from the mouth and nostrils, including from tissues and muscles.
In addition, corpses often swell and produce unpleasant odors. At this moment, the rigor stops, and the body becomes very soft: the skin, muscles and organs have already decomposed. When the body no longer has immunity, bacteria in it are free to multiply, feed and destroy it.
And if you also had some kind of infection, and you died with harmful bacteria inside, or you had cancer, then your body will decompose even faster.”
Laying larvae
How quickly the decomposition process takes place also depends on environment. If a body is kept warm, it decomposes faster than if it is cool. A body left in nature by and large is destroyed within a month, after it is taken over by bacteria and insects. The body is usually preserved in a coffin for much longer.
“But sometimes flies manage to lay faces, including in body openings - eyes, nose, mouth and anus - before the body hits the ground. This can happen in just a few days. Then they will go into the coffin with the body and continue to decompose it.”
Dug up again
After a year, as a rule, the bodies lying in the ground are completely eaten by bacteria, and only bones remain. But there are also exceptions. One example is famous case from the Swedish city of Arboga, when the body was dug up a year after burial, and it could still be opened.
“It depends on the conditions. For example, it matters how wet or dry it was in the ground and the coffin. Bacteria thrive in a humid environment.”
Soapy consistency
A body can survive in water much longer than in land, which was confirmed, among other things, during the recovery from the bottom of the steamer Freja in 1994. The ship sank 98 years earlier, and yet the bodies were identified.
In the water in the body, the formation of the so-called fat wax occurs, due to which it becomes hard and acquires a soapy consistency, which is unfavorable for bacteria.
As for the skeletons, according to calculations, they should decay in the grave over a fifty-year period. But even here everything can vary greatly. It happened that bones were preserved for hundreds of thousands of years.
According to the law “On Burial...”, 15 years are allotted for the decomposition of a human body. This figure is based on the fact that in a temperate climate, with average soil texture, at a depth of about 2 m, it takes 10 to 12 years for the human body to decompose to a clean skeleton. In most cases, this is really enough for almost nothing to remain of the body, because the bones of the skeleton also do not last forever and are actively decomposed by soil acids. However, it is enough to talk with archaeologists, criminologists, and even just gravediggers to understand how often they encounter all sorts of anomalies. The processes that occur with the human body after burial are so complex and sometimes unpredictable that they gave rise to a whole scientific field - taphonomy. Among the main factors influencing the decomposition of the human body are temperature, access to oxygen, embalming, cause of death, method of burial, nature of wounds and injuries, humidity, nature of clothing and the surface on which the body lies. Research in this area has serious applied and academic significance, but science still cannot explain many mysterious phenomena occurring with human remains. In this case, theologians of various directions willingly come to the rescue.
Farm of the Dead
This unusual testing ground, known to experts as Body Farm, is located in the American state of Tennessee, a few miles from the town of Knoxville, and belongs to medical center local university. Founded it for scientific research on the decomposition of the human body, anthropologist Dr. William Bass. Here, in the grove, on an area of just over a hectare, there are several hundred bodies. It is curious that more than 300 bodies were donated to the landfill by volunteers during their lifetime. The rest are unclaimed corpses. Some of the bodies lie in different positions on the surface, while others are buried at different depths. Some are left inside old cars, others are placed in crypts. The landfill is fenced off from random guests with barbed wire. However, visitors come here regularly. The bulk of them are groups of FBI trainees, who are clearly shown the processes of decomposition of human bodies depending on numerous external conditions.
The experience of the “Farm of the Dead” is being carefully studied by experts all over the world. After all, serious scientific research on the taphonomy of human remains, and even supported by long-term experimental research, is still not enough. A typical case in this regard occurred in 2002 in Israel, where the parents of the deceased soldier Daniel Geller demanded the exhumation of their son’s body, suspecting that the Institute of Forensic Medicine had removed part of his organs without permission. The body was exhumed two years after burial. At the trial, two luminaries of science acted as opponents to each other - the director of the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, Yehuda Giss, and professor-pathologist from Denmark, Jurgen Thompson, who presented diametrically opposed expert opinions on the question of whether, in two years, they could preserved in the ground under given conditions the remains of lungs, liver, kidneys, brain, heart and tongue.
Swamp People
In northern Europe, numerous finds of the so-called “bog people” have long been known. We are talking about periodically discovered perfectly preserved human bodies in sphagnum peat bogs, which are several hundred, and in some cases up to ten thousand years old. Due to the acidic environment created by sphagnum mosses, low temperature, as well as the lack of oxygen, the “swamp people” are perfectly preserved soft fabrics(including skin and internal organs) and clothes. In some cases, scientists were even able to study the contents of their stomachs. But the skeleton of swamp people, as a rule, is completely absent, so acids very quickly eat up bone remains. It is curious that the ancient Europeans, in particular the Celts, no doubt knew about the preservative properties of peat and sometimes deliberately made burials in bogs, thus achieving natural embalming.
The most famous of the bog people is Lindow Man, found in a peat bog near Manchester in 1984 and now kept in the British Museum. The Lindow man became famous not so much because of the good preservation of his upper part (head, arms, chest), but because of the method of his murder, which took place in the 2nd century. BC. and which was restored with a sufficient degree of reliability. First, the unfortunate man was struck three times on the head, then stabbed in the throat, then bled, then ritually strangled, breaking cervical vertebrae, and “drowned” face down in the swamp. The presence of a large amount of mistletoe pollen in the stomach suggests that the Lindow man was also poisoned before his execution, which was of a ritual nature.
In Russia, sphagnum peat bogs often present surprises of a different kind. In the Leningrad and Novgorod regions there are still many unburied soldiers of the last war, embalmed in a natural way. Even the participants of various search groups, who are not shy people, are left with an indelible impression by such finds.
Conditions for centuries-long preservation of soft tissues of the body can exist not only in peat bogs. Oak logs, widely used for burial in Rus' in pre-Petrine times, also effectively protect from decay. Such burials dating back to the 16th–17th centuries have been repeatedly discovered in the center of Moscow. Tannins wood and a tightly closed lid ensure the preservation of soft tissues for three to four centuries.
Embalmed while alive
Observing the processes of decomposition of the exhumed remains of people buried in the last three decades, Professor Rainer Horn from the German city of Kiel came to the unexpected conclusion that the period of stay in the earth of our contemporaries has significantly lengthened. Among the reasons for the slow decomposition, Professor Horn names the consumption of large amounts of preservatives in food and the use of cosmetics during life, that is, in fact, intravital embalming.
Preparation for the transition to another state, characteristic of yogic practice, also often leads to a special course of processes in the body after physical death. For example, in 1952, the director of the Los Angeles morgue, Harry Rowe, observed the body of the deceased Paramahan Yogananda for 20 days, not noting any signs of physical decay, odors or drying. The lack of signs of natural decomposition so shocked Dr. Rowe that he wrote down and notarized all his observations in detail.
Cases of abnormal preservation of the deceased are considered by many religions as evidence of special spiritual qualities and holiness of the deceased. Let us mention one of them, relatively recent. In 1927, Dashi-Dorzho Itiglov, Pandito Khambo Lama, the spiritual head of all Buddhists in Russia, died. He predicted his death, prepared for it, and shortly before leaving for another world he asked his students to check his body in 30 years. The Hambo Lama died in the lotus position, in a state of meditation. In this position he was buried in a special sarcophagus. In 1955, a group of Buryat lamas secretly excavated the grave, opened the sarcophagus and found Itiglov still sitting in the same position without signs of decomposition. A secondary exhumation was carried out in 1973. Itiglov looked as if he were alive. In 2002, his body was finally removed from the ground and is currently located in one of the Lamaist temples of Ulan-Ude. In 2004, Itiglov’s body was examined by employees of the Russian Center for Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. There were no significant changes in the tissue of hair, nails and skin. Internal organs were present. There were no signs of embalming.
Buried alive?
Who among us has not heard about terrible stories about people being buried alive and mistakenly buried? For example, about Gogol turning over in his grave, about coffin lids scratched from the inside and other chilling stories. Specialists examining bone remains can add a lot of facts regarding inexplicable processes and unknown forces that literally twist some of the burials. Of the rational explanations here, perhaps, only the work of gases released during decomposition and permafrost processes in the soil, leading to partial displacements, can be cited.
Or maybe these gloomy rumors are just our latent and subconscious, at the genetic level, protest against going into a dark pit? After all, the custom of burial in the ground came to Rus' relatively late. Our Slavic and Finno-Ugric ancestors gravitated towards other, more visualized, and therefore less mysterious options for saying goodbye to family and friends: cremation in canoes and shallow fire pits, burial in above-ground storage sheds and “houses of the dead”, and sometimes simply and environmentally friendly feeding of the dead animals and birds.
Many people prefer not to think about what happens to the body in the coffin. It so happened that in our community the topic of death is taboo; they prefer not to raise it, but if life circumstances forced, then to talk about it as little as possible and in the most courteous formulations. It is completely unethical to directly state, for example, about rotting, although due to the education received, the majority of our fellow citizens are well aware that these are the processes that occur with a body placed in the ground. However, the coffin may simply contain ashes remaining after cremation. In such a situation, organic processes will be somewhat different and will not proceed in the same way as during the burial of ordinary remains. On the other hand, usually the ashes of a cremated person are preserved in completely different ways.
Opinions regarding what happens to the body in the coffin vary greatly - much depends on which religious branch a particular person belongs to. Many, for example, believe in resurrection, so they are convinced that nothing bad happens to bodies - they are waiting in the wings. Others believe that an apocalyptic situation may occur, when the dead will rise from their graves and unleash their wrath on the living. For such a faith, the idea of complete decomposition of the body is also poorly suited - after all, someone (something) needs to get up.
Religions, philosophical movements, rituals and traditions have long tried to give people an idea of what happens after death - and all this for the simple reason that such a transition frightens most people. It is because of this that the topic of death is so carefully avoided in society, and certainly not talked about about how the human body decomposes. This is considered categorically unethical, ill-mannered, and even very ugly behavior if someone has died close person. The idea of decomposing the remains of someone we loved so much is not just upsetting, it is insulting.
Despite such great difficulties traditionally associated with the perception of the moment of death, a person still cannot abandon the reasoning and reflections associated with the transition from life to non-existence. Of course, Epicurus expressed himself very wisely on this matter in his time, answering that there is no death while he is alive, and when it comes he will no longer be there, which means there is nothing to fear. At the same time, this idea is not very compatible with beliefs in the transmigration of souls, the afterlife and other forms of future existence human essence, therefore, not everyone is ready to accept Epicurean statements, and the fate of the coffin in the ground sincerely worries many, many. Surprisingly, many are afraid to admit their interest, considering it shameful.
As soon as life ceases, irreversible organic reactions begin in the body. The first among them, as doctors say, is autolysis, in other words, independent digestion. own cells. Doctors have more than once studied what happens to the human body after death, and therefore have discovered that negative processes are primarily caused by a lack of oxygen. Once death occurs, the blood is no longer supplied with this essential component, resulting in severe damage to living cells.
Chemical reactions occurring in the human body become sources of toxic compounds. During life, internal organs effectively remove such organic matter, producing high-quality cleaning. When considering what happens to the human body after death, it is necessary to remember: there is no longer blood flow or organ activity, thanks to which toxic components could be removed from living cells, so instead of disposal, accumulation occurs. The brain and liver are the first to suffer from such negative processes. This is due high content water in the structures of the main organ nervous system, and the liver is rich in active enzymes.
If changes in the structure of the brain and liver occur inside the body and remain invisible to an external observer, then the next step, if it was not decided to cremate the person in a timely manner, can be observed with your own eyes - the skin changes. The shade becomes pale, it is usually described as “dead”, it will be so characteristic in such a situation.
The process is explained quite simply. As the internal systems are destroyed, the vessels also lose their functionality. In such a situation, the blood gradually flows down in the direction of the person’s location relative to the surface of the earth, which is due to the influence of gravity. By the way, it’s no secret to anyone what happens to the body in the coffin, which is why in popular culture the living dead are usually portrayed as pale as this. These include vampires and zombies in films, books and games. Living in dark corners, fearing the light, the “dead” are ready to pounce on the living, whose blood is still warm and full. However, in films, the heroes of the “otherworldly” world are usually uniformly light, but in reality the body on the back side acquires dark shade because blood accumulates here.
Perhaps this element of the processes that occur with the human body in the coffin is also very well presented in popular culture: The deceased person becomes cold. This is due to the impossibility of functioning of internal systems and organs. Under the influence of stagnant processes and the absence of energy generation reactions, the temperature decreases. The process is not instantaneous, but inevitable. Cells don't get necessary nutrition, including energy, due to which the threads of protein compounds become static. This leads to hardening of the muscle tissue, it becomes rigid. Joints change in a similar way. In medicine, this stage is called rigor mortis.
If the cremation of a person was not organized in a timely manner, the processes can be noticed first of all by the face. The first changes are reflected in the eyelids of the deceased and in the condition of the jaws. Next step - muscle neck. Gradually, this process covers the entire body.
When considering what happens to the body of the deceased in the coffin, it is necessary to understand that the person himself as such is no longer here. This is just a set of organic tissues that is completely subject to the laws of our world, namely: living organisms can use everything that is on the planet to ensure that they can live longer. This also applies to the bodies of deceased people.
While a person is alive, the internal organs produce various components that do not allow microbes and viruses to multiply inside. After death, this protective system loses its functionality, so a new ecological system soon develops - it is due to it that the body rots. Many bacteria whose growth is activated are also present in a living organism, but their colonies are strictly controlled by immune cells, but after death microscopic life begins to experience real freedom. In fact, the body is still alive, but has no consciousness. This is one of the most characteristic features organic life on our planet, where absolutely empty space cannot remain if it is at least to some extent suitable for habitation. The human body is organic matter rich in nutritional components, so this is definitely a “holy place”, even if the fellow tribesmen of the deceased are offended by such behavior of microscopic organisms as disrespect for the memory of the deceased.
For your own sake mental health you should not open the coffin standing in the crypt: you can thereby give yourself the opportunity to contemplate one of the most unaesthetic, unpleasant (and, by the way, dangerous to the health of living things) stage of decomposition - molecular death. By the way, as studies have shown, in the majority of living people the picture of post-mortem decomposition causes disgust, and the absence of such a reaction in modern medicine considered as a pathological response to external factor. This is due to the body’s protective reactions: it has been known since ancient times that decomposed bodies are dangerous, can become a source of infection, and provoke epidemics of terrible diseases. At a subconscious level, humanity as a species has developed a defense against such a threat in the form of aversion to the process of decomposition.
However, even if we ignore attempts to survive as a species and just look at what happens to the body in the coffin, we still have to admit that the picture is rather unaesthetic. Previously soft tissues eventually turn into a mixture of gases, liquids and salt deposits. The process is largely due to the activity of microscopic life forms.
If you look at the body in the coffin a year later, you will see some remains of soft tissue, still decomposing under the influence of microflora, but the process of decay itself is completed by this time. But if you have to get acquainted with the corpse earlier, the picture will frankly not be pleasant. First, the pressure of gaseous masses increases in the body, which leads to the formation of blisters on the skin - the air tries to escape into the free external space. Under the influence of such processes and decomposition itself, the flaps of integument are gradually separated from the body, and the results of the processes leave what was previously a living organism. There are known cases when high blood pressure led to a small explosion inside the body of the deceased person. In such a situation, the abdominal area is the first to suffer.
At first, all these processes occur very intensively and actively, but over time, the volumes of organic matter available for processing decrease significantly, which leads to a slowdown chemical reactions. The remains return to where we came from - to nature. The liquid gradually penetrates the soil, the bacteria find new carriers - insects. Criminologists use the term “island” in their work practice. It is they who describe the area where it was buried human body- gradually there are practically no traces left of it, only the soil seems to be improved with rich organic fertilizer. According to her analysis chemical composition it is possible to determine what exactly was here before.
There are situations when processes do not proceed at all as described above. Preservation possible. Many people believe that this is to a greater extent characteristic of recent decades, industrial development, saturation of fabrics human body chemical components - however, this opinion is disputed by no fewer people than there are who agree with it. There are several known ways to preserve the body of a deceased person:
The specific process is determined by the conditions. There are known traditions in some areas when people, even during their lifetime, took measures to preserve their bodies. For example, this is exactly the practice that the Sokushinbutsu monks engaged in: first they adhered to a strict diet, and then immured themselves high in the mountains. However, now this practice is recognized as harsh and is officially prohibited. It is curious: despite numerous difficulties, only very few of the fanatics of this religious trend achieved real success. For the majority, despite all the measures taken (eating roots, refusing liquids), natural laws turned out to be stronger, so after death I observe quite ordinary organic decomposition in accordance with the laws of our world.
The name of the last Japanese monk to successfully follow this idea is Tetsuryukai. Interestingly, he became the “Buddha in the flesh” after the introduction of the imperial ban on such a sophisticated form of suicide, but loyal followers were able to present the matter in such a way that no one had broken the laws. To this day, the mummy of this monk can be seen in one of the Japanese temples in Nangaku.
When a person is buried, according to our traditions, the body in the coffin goes to the cemetery. In contrast to sophisticated methods of preserving organic tissues, here everything happens exactly the opposite: what was once a person is at the mercy of numerous small organisms living in the thickness of the earth. Mechanical influence, in other words, tissue absorption, is the responsibility of mold fungi, nematodes, and maggots, which happily feed on the “treat.”
Decomposition occurs most quickly under conditions elevated temperature, in water the process takes a little longer, and is slowest underground. A special Kasper rule was developed regarding the relationship between periods: a week in the open air corresponds to two weeks of decomposition in water and two months in the thickness of the earth.
The topic of what happens to the human body after death is fraught with a lot of interesting facts, shrouded in myths and legends. What actually happens to the body's tissues when a person dies? And is the process of decomposition so terrible, which, judging by the corresponding photos and videos, is not a sight for the faint of heart.
Death is the natural and inevitable end of the life of any living creature. This process does not happen all at once; it includes a number of successive stages. Death is expressed in the cessation of blood flow, cessation of nervous and respiratory systems, fading of mental reactions.
Medicine distinguishes the stages of dying:
It is impossible to determine exactly how long it takes a person to die, since all processes are strictly individual, their duration depends on the reason for the end of life. So, for some, these stages are completed within a few minutes, for others they take long weeks and even months.
What happens to the body of a deceased person in the first minutes and hours after death is familiar to people who have observed these changes. Appearance the deceased and the transition from one state to another depend on the natural chemical reactions of the body, which continue after extinction vital functions, as well as environmental conditions.
It is observed in previously moistened areas: mucous membranes of the lips, genitals, cornea, as well as places of wounds, abrasions and other skin damage.
The higher the air temperature and the humidity surrounding the corpse, the faster the process. The cornea of the eye becomes cloudy, yellow-brown “Larche spots” appear on the white membranes.
Cadaveric drying allows us to assess the presence of intravital damage to the body.
The decrease and subsequent complete disappearance of adenosine triphosphoric acid, a substance formed as a result of metabolic processes, is considered the main reason why the body of the deceased becomes numb. When internal organs stop functioning, metabolism fades and the concentration of various compounds decreases.
The body assumes a posture characterized by bent elbows upper limbs, in the hip and knee joints- lower and semi-compressed hands. Rigor mortis is recognized as definitive evidence of death.
The active stage begins 2-3 hours after biological death, ends in 48 hours. Processes accelerate when exposed to high temperatures.
At this stage, a decrease in body temperature occurs. How quickly a corpse cools depends on the environment - during the first 6 hours the rate decreases by 1 degree per hour, then by a degree every 1.5-2 hours.
If the deceased is pregnant, a “coffin birth” is possible, when the uterus pushes out the fetus.
They are ordinary hematomas or bruises, as they are clots of dried blood. When biological fluid stops flowing through the vessels, it settles in nearby soft tissues. Under the influence of gravity, it descends to an area closer to the surface on which the body of the deceased or deceased lies.
Thanks to this physical feature, criminologists can determine how a person died, even if the dead body was moved to another place.
In the first minutes and hours after death, the only unpleasant odors that will emanate from the deceased may be the smell of involuntary bowel movements.
In a few days or hours, if dead body has not been refrigerated, a characteristic cadaveric or decomposition smell appears. Its reason lies in chemical processes - the rotting of internal organs causes many gases to accumulate in the body: ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and others, which create a characteristic “aroma”.
Loss muscle tone and relaxation are the reasons for the disappearance from the skin fine wrinkles, deep ones are less evident.
The face takes on a neutral expression, similar to a mask - traces of pain and torment or joyful bliss disappear, the deceased looks calm and peaceful.
An erection in men is a common occurrence in the first minutes after death. Its occurrence is explained by the law of gravity - blood tends to the lower parts of the body and does not return to the heart, its accumulation occurs in the soft tissues of the body, including the reproductive organ.
Natural biological processes arise due to loss of tone in the muscles of the body. As a result, the sphincter and urethra relax. It is clear that such a phenomenon requires one of the very first and obligatory rituals of the deceased - ablution.
In the course of many medical studies, it was possible to establish that a person’s weight changes immediately after death - the corpse weighs 21 grams less. Scientific explanation this is not the case, therefore it is generally accepted that this is the weight of the soul of the deceased, which left the mortal body for eternal life.
The body continues to decompose for many years after death, but these stages mainly occur after the funeral and are not accessible to attention ordinary people. However, thanks to medical research, all stages of decomposition are described in detail in specialized literature, which makes it possible to imagine what a decomposing corpse looks like a month or years after death.
Like the stages of death, each deceased person has decomposition processes individual characteristics and depend on the factors leading to death.
Decomposition begins within the first minutes after the soul leaves the body, but the process becomes noticeable only after a few hours. Moreover, the higher the ambient temperature and humidity in it, the faster these changes occur.
The first stage is drying. Thin layers of the epidermis are exposed to it: mucous membranes, eyeballs, fingertips and others. The skin of these areas turns yellow and thins, then thickens and becomes like parchment paper.
The second stage is direct autolysis. It is characterized by the breakdown of cells of internal organs caused by the activation of their own enzymes. At this stage, the tissues become soft and liquid, which is why the expression “the corpse is dripping.”
The organs that produce these enzymes and therefore have the largest reserves are the first to undergo changes:
It is difficult to predict how long it will take to complete the autolysis cycle. It depends:
This is the late post-mortem stage of decomposition, occurring on average after three days and lasting quite a long time. It is from this moment that a specific corpse smell arises, and the body itself swells from the putrefactive gases overflowing it.
If human remains have not been buried, and the temperature surrounding them is high, the corpse rots quite quickly - after 3-4 months only the skeleton remains. Cold can slow down these processes, and freezing can stop them. The simple answer to the question is where do such rotten masses go - they are absorbed into the soil, which subsequently makes it fertile.
Putrefactive processes are characteristic of corpses in the grave and occur without the participation of oxygen. Remains that have to decompose on the surface of the earth are subject to another biological process - decay. Moreover, such decomposition occurs faster, since there are fewer chemical compounds in the tissues and at the same time they are less toxic than those that fill a corpse rotting underground.
The reason for the differences is simple - under the influence of oxygen, water evaporates faster from the tissues and conditions arise for the growth of mold and the development of invertebrates, which literally “eat away” the soft tissues, as a result of which the decomposed corpse becomes a clean skeleton.
This process is typical for remains buried in soil with high humidity, in water, and in places where there is no access to oxygen. This leads to detachment of the skin (maceration), moisture penetrates the body and washes blood and a number of various substances, after which saponification of fats occurs. As a result of chemical reactions, special soaps are formed, which form the basis of fat wax - a solid mass, both similar to soap and cottage cheese.
Fat wax acts on the principle of a preservative: although such corpses do not have internal organs (they are more like a slimy shapeless mass), the appearance of the body is preserved almost completely.
It easily reveals traces of injuries and damage that led to death: opening of veins, gunshot wounds, strangulation and others. It is for this feature that saponification is valued by those who work in forensic medical examination bodies - pathologists and criminologists.
At its core, it is the drying out of human remains. For the process to proceed correctly and fully, a dry environment, high temperature and good ventilation of the corpse are required.
At the end of mummification, which can last from several weeks in children and up to six months in adults, body height and weight decrease, soft tissues become dense and wrinkled (which indicates a lack of moisture in them), and the skin acquires a brownish-brown tint.
The body of each person is inhabited by several million microorganisms, the vital activity of which does not depend on whether he is alive or not. After termination biological processes disappears in the body and immune defense, making it easier for fungi, bacteria and other flora to move through internal organs.
This activity allows the self-absorption process to proceed faster, especially if environmental conditions are favorable for their growth.
These phenomena are characteristic of remains that have entered the stage of decay, as they arise as a result of the release of gases filling the body, and these are formed under the influence of the activity of microorganisms.
In the first days after death, the sphincter and trachea usually become the pathways for the release of volatile substances, so the deceased is characterized by the presence of wheezing, whistles and groans, which serve as a reason for the creation of terrible myths.
Another phenomenon caused by the accumulation of volatile compounds and decomposing internal organs. Since most gases accumulate in the intestines, it is the stomach that swells first, and only after that the process spreads to the rest of the members.
The skin loses color, becomes covered in blisters, and the rotted insides in the form of a jelly-like liquid begin to leak from the natural orifices of the body.
There is an opinion that keratinized integuments continue to grow even after the completion of biological processes. And although it is erroneous, it is impossible to say that their length does not increase. The fact is that during drying - the very first stage of decomposition, the skin becomes noticeably thinner and the root of the hair or nail is pulled out and exposed, which creates a deceptive impression of growth.
Bone tissue is the strongest and least susceptible to destruction part of the human body. Bones don't decompose long years, do not rot or decay - even the smallest and thinnest of them take centuries to turn into dust.
Skeletonization of a corpse in a coffin takes up to 30 years, in the ground it happens faster (in 2-4 years). Large and wide bones remain virtually unchanged.
During the process of decomposition, several thousand are released from the remains of living matter. useful components, minerals, micro- and macroelements, chemical and biological compounds that are absorbed into the soil and become an excellent fertilizer for it.
The process has a positive effect on the overall ecological system of the region where the cemeteries are located, and explains the custom of some ancient tribes of burying the dead at the edges of pastures and vegetable gardens.
If the physiological and biological components of death are described in sufficient detail as in specialized medical literature, and by individuals who are interested in the occult, who love corpses and are interested in them various conditions, then a question of the soul or vital energy, the wandering mind, subsequent reincarnation and other phenomena have not been fully explored.
Not a single living person has found answers to the questions of whether there is life after death, what a dying or already dead person feels, how real the other world is.
In any case, the body of the deceased must undergo its own special ritual, and his soul is remembered by family and friends. The first commemoration is held 9 days later, or no later than 10 days from the moment of death, again - on the 40th day, and the third - on the anniversary of the death.
Analysis of remains, including those from a hidden grave, can help determine the date of a person's death. For example, studies have shown that the maximum concentration of phospholipids in the fluid flowing from the body is observed 40 days after death, and nitrogen and phosphorus - after 72 and 100 days, respectively.
After 60 days, the corpse begins to crumble, if buried in moist soil, and acquires a whitish-yellow color. Staying the body in peat soil and swamp makes the skin dense and rough, bones become soft over time, resembling cartilage tissue.
According to Orthodox beliefs, in 40 days the soul of the deceased ends earthly ordeals and goes to the afterlife.
What it will be will be decided by the Supreme Court, not the last argument of which will be the fact of how the burial was carried out. So, before burying the coffin, a service is read over the deceased, during which the remission of all his earthly sins occurs.
At this time, the processes of decomposition of the body continue: the remaining soft tissues, exposing the skeleton. It is typical that a year after death the cadaveric smell is no longer present. This means that the rotting process is complete. The remains of tissues smolder, releasing nitrogen and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
During this period, the presence of tendons, dry and dense areas of the body can still be observed. Next, a long process of mineralization will begin (up to 30 years), as a result of which the person will be left with bones that are not connected to each other.
The year in Orthodoxy is marked by the final transition of the soul of the deceased to Heaven or Hell and union with previously deceased relatives and friends. It is the first anniversary that is considered the new birth of the soul for eternal life, so the wake is held surrounded by close relatives and all the people dear to the deceased.
Each religion has its own canons and customs, according to which ceremonies of veneration and remembrance of the deceased are held on certain days, as well as the peculiarities of burying the body.
Thus, in Christianity, it is customary to bury the dead in a coffin or immerse them in crypts; in Islam, they wrap them in a shroud and place them in damp earth; in Hinduism and Buddhism, the dead are burned, because they believe that the soul can be reborn and return in a new body, and in Some Indian tribes still maintain the custom of eating the dead.
The list of methods is long, including Lately There are also quite unusual ones: dissolving the body in special chemical compounds or hanging it in the air for mummification. But two are most popular in our country: burial in a coffin and cremation.
Few even religious people know why they bury dead people in coffins. According to beliefs, the very concept of “deceased” or “deceased” means one who has fallen asleep, resting, that is, one who temporarily rests in anticipation of the re-coming of Christ and the subsequent resurrection.
That is why the body of the deceased is placed in a coffin, which is designed to preserve it until the Second Coming. Key Features are placing a pillow under the head and placing it in the ground facing east, since it is from there that the Savior will appear.
If we consider the burial process from a biological point of view, the wooden box in which the deceased is placed is also considered a natural material, and when the coffin rots, additional fertilizer is formed, which improves the ecosystem.
Cremation is a process called burning a body. It is widespread because it has several advantages:
The only caveat is that such deceased people should not hope for the subsequent Resurrection and the acquisition of Eternal Life in Orthodoxy, since the church does not welcome and even condemns cremation.
Another actual question- After how many days are the dead buried? Everything here is individual and depends on the causes and circumstances of the death itself. If there are any questions for the offensive fatal outcome Law enforcement agencies do not, it is better to carry out the burial on the second day after death, since decay processes begin later, the corpse turns black or blue, becomes covered in spots, and smells bad.
If burial is temporarily impossible for some reason, the body should be placed in the cold. Thus, a special temperature in the morgue and treatment of the corpse with appropriate chemicals will help keep it in optimal condition for a long time. Some relatives try to stop the decomposition by using dry ice or placing the deceased in the cold, which can be done, but only if the funeral is postponed for 1-2 days.
In some cases, most often requiring additional forensic research or reburial, the corpse is exhumed.
The removal of the body is usually carried out with special permission and compliance Orthodox customs and canons. Exhumed bodies are quickly redirected to the morgue or to a subsequent burial site
British scientists decided to study how the body decomposes and organized an experiment by laying out 65 pig carcasses in the open air.
These studies will help in the future to determine burial sites, including relatively old ones, using a specially designed device.
Officially, it takes 15 years for a body to completely decompose in a coffin. However, re-burial is allowed after approximately 11-13 years after the first. It is believed that during this time both the deceased and his final resting place will completely decompose, and the earth can be reused. Most often, this period is sufficient for the almost complete disappearance of the corpse. Thanatology and forensic medicine deal with post-mortem mechanisms of the body, including partly the study of how a body decomposes in a coffin.
Immediately after death, self-digestion of human internal organs and tissues begins. And with it, after some time, rotting. Before a funeral, processes are slowed down by embalming or refrigerating the body to make the person appear more presentable. But underground there are no longer any restraining factors. And decay destroys the body full swing. As a result, all that remains is bones and chemical compounds: gases, salts and liquids.
In fact, a corpse is a complex ecosystem. It is the habitat and nutrient medium for a large number of microorganisms. The system develops and grows as its habitat decomposes. Immunity turns off soon after death - and microbes and microorganisms populate all tissues and organs. They feed on cadaveric fluids and provoke further development rotting. Over time, all tissues completely rot or decay, leaving a bare skeleton. But it too may soon collapse, leaving only individual, especially strong bones.
What happens in the coffin after a year
After a year has passed after death, the process of decomposition of residual soft tissue sometimes continues. Often, when excavating graves, it is noted that after a year after death, the cadaveric smell is no longer present - the rotting is complete. And the remaining tissues either slowly smolder, releasing mainly nitrogen and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or there is simply nothing left to smolder. Because only the skeleton remained.
Skeletonization is the stage of decomposition of the body when only one skeleton remains. What happens to the deceased in the coffin about a year after death. Sometimes some tendons or particularly dense and dry areas of the body may still remain. Next will be the process of mineralization. It can last for a very long time - up to 30 years. Everything remaining from the body of the deceased will have to lose all the “extra” minerals. As a result, what remains of a person is an unfastened pile of bones. The skeleton falls apart because the joint capsules, muscles and tendons that hold the bones together no longer exist. And it can remain in this form for an unlimited amount of time. At the same time, the bones become very fragile.
What happens to the coffin after burial?
Most modern coffins are made from ordinary pine boards. Such material is short-lived in conditions of constant humidity and will last in the ground for a couple of years. After that, he turns into dust and fails. Therefore, when digging up old graves, it’s good to find several rotten boards that were once a coffin. The service life of the final resting place of the deceased can be somewhat extended by varnishing it. Other, harder and more durable types of wood may not rot for a longer period of time. And especially rare, metal coffins are quietly stored in the ground for decades.
As a corpse decomposes, it loses fluid and slowly turns into a collection of substances and minerals. Since a person is 70% water, it needs to go somewhere. She leaves everyone's body possible ways and seeps through the bottom boards into the ground. This obviously does not extend the life of the tree; excess moisture only provokes its rotting.
How a man decomposes in a coffin
During decomposition, the human body necessarily goes through several stages. They can vary in time depending on the burial environment and the condition of the corpse. The processes that occur with the dead in the coffin ultimately leave the body with a bare skeleton.
Most often, the coffin with the deceased is buried after three days from the date of death. This is due not only to customs, but also to simple biology. If after five to seven days the corpse is not buried, then this will have to be done in a closed coffin. Because by this time autolysis and decay will have developed en masse, and internal organs will slowly begin to collapse. This can lead to putrefactive emphysema throughout the body, leakage of bloody fluid from the mouth and nose. Now the process can be stopped by embalming the body or keeping it in the refrigerator.
What happens to the corpse in the coffin after burial is reflected in several different processes. Collectively, they are called decomposition, which, in turn, is divided into several stages. Decomposition begins immediately after death. But it begins to manifest itself only after some time, without limiting factors - within a couple of days.
Autolysis
The very first stage of decomposition, which begins almost immediately after death. Autolysis is also called “self-digestion.” Tissues are digested by decay cell membranes and release of enzymes from cellular structures. The most important of these are cathepsins. This process does not depend on any microorganisms and begins independently. Internal organs such as the brain and adrenal medulla, spleen, and pancreas undergo autolysis most quickly, as they contain the largest amount of cathepsin. Somewhat later, all the cells of the body enter into the process. This provokes rigor mortis due to the release of calcium from the intercellular fluid and its combination with troponin. Against this background, actin and myosin combine, which causes muscle contraction. The cycle cannot be completed due to the lack of ATP, so the muscles are fixed and relaxed only after they have begun to decompose.
Autolysis is partly facilitated by various bacteria that spread throughout the body from the intestines, feeding on the fluid flowing from decomposing cells. They literally “spread” throughout the body through blood vessels. The liver is primarily affected. However, bacteria reach it within the first twenty hours from the moment of death, first promoting autolysis and then rotting.
Rotting
In parallel with autolysis, a little later than its onset, rotting also develops. The rate of decay depends on several factors:
It begins with the mucous membranes and skin. This process can develop quite early if the soil of the grave is wet, and in the circumstances of death there is blood poisoning. However, it develops more slowly in cold regions or if the corpse contains insufficient moisture. Some strong poisons and thick clothing also help slow it down.
It is noteworthy that many myths about “moaning corpses” are associated specifically with rotting. This is called vocalization. When a corpse decomposes, gas is formed, which primarily occupies the cavities. When the body has not yet rotted, it exits through natural openings. When gas passes through vocal cords, constrained by numb muscles, the output is sound. Most often this is a wheezing or something similar to a groan. Rigor rigor most often passes just in time for the funeral, so in rare cases a terrifying sound can be heard from a coffin that has not yet been buried.
What happens to the body in the coffin at this stage begins with the hydrolysis of proteins by proteases of microbes and dead cells of the body. Proteins begin to break down gradually, to polypeptides and below. At the output, free amino acids remain instead. It is as a result of their subsequent transformation that a cadaverous odor arises. At this stage, the growth of mold on the corpse and the colonization of it by maggots and nematodes can speed up the process. They mechanically destroy tissues, thereby accelerating their decay.
The liver, stomach, intestines and spleen are the most susceptible to decomposition in this way, due to the abundance of enzymes in them. In this regard, very often the peritoneum of the deceased bursts. During decay, corpse gas is released, which fills the natural cavities of a person (swells him from the inside). The flesh is gradually destroyed and exposes the bones, turning into a fetid grayish pulp.
The following external manifestations can be considered clear signs of the onset of rotting:
Smoldering
A corpse decomposes most quickly in the first six months after burial. However, instead of rotting, smoldering may begin - in cases where there is not enough moisture and too much oxygen for the former. But sometimes decay can begin even after partial rotting of the corpse.
For it to occur, it is necessary that enough oxygen enters the body and not a lot of moisture enters. With it, the production of corpse gas stops. The release of carbon dioxide begins.
Another way is mummification or saponification
In some cases, rotting and decay do not occur. This may occur due to the processing of the body, its condition, or an environment unfavorable for these processes. What happens to the dead person in the coffin in this case? As a rule, there are two options left: the corpse is either mummified - it dries out so much that it cannot decompose normally, or it is saponified - a fat wax is formed.
Mummification occurs naturally when a corpse is buried in very dry soil. The body is well mummified when there was severe dehydration during life, which was aggravated by cadaveric desiccation after death.
In addition, there is artificial mummification by embalming or other chemical treatment, which can stop decomposition.
Fat wax is the opposite of mummification. It is formed in a very humid environment, when the corpse does not have access to the oxygen necessary for rotting and decay. In this case, the body begins to saponify (otherwise known as anaerobic bacterial hydrolysis). The main component of fat wax is ammonia soap. Everything turns into him subcutaneous fat, muscles, skin, mammary glands and brain. Everything else either does not change (bones, nails, hair) or rots.
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