Acetate of Alumina.—A solution of this salt is obtained by saturating acetic acid with hydrated alumina and cannot be evaporated without the loss of acetic acid. It has a faint smell of acetic acid and a sweetish taste, and possesses strong antiseptic properties.
Sulphate of Alumina.—Saturate diluted sulphuric acid with hydrated alumina, evaporate and crystallize; it is in thin, flexible plates, of a pearly lustre, sweet and astringent taste; soluble in twice its weight of cold water, but not in alcohol. Its chief use is as an antiseptic; a solution of 1 pound to a quart of water is used to preserve dead bodies; as a lotion it may be used in a somewhat less concentrated form.
The salts of alumina have been ascertained by Mr. Gannal to be powerful preservatives of animal matter. Among these the sulphate is to be preferred on account of its easy preparation and moderate price. Its aqueous solution was found by Mr. Gannal to be very effectual in preserving bodies, when injected into the blood vessels; in the summer season bodies were preserved for thirty days or more; in the winter for three months.
For use in the winter, a quantity of the solution sufficient for injecting one body, may be made by adding a pound, avoirdupois, of the salt to a quart of water; for use in warm weather, the solution must be saturated.
POST MORTEM EXAMINATIONS.
Before commencing the work of embalming, and even while laying out a corpse, it is always necessary to make an inspection of the surface of the body. The minuteness of this inspection will depend upon the character of the case, and, in a great measure, dictate the course of treatment to be followed so as to insure success. It also behooves the operator, for his own safety, to look for evidences of skin diseases, ulcers, abscesses, etc.; the glands, penis and prepuce are to be carefully examined for syphilitic cicatrices.
It is customary to find certain changes in the external appearance of the body, which are due to the cessation of vitality in the tissues and the commencement of decomposition. I speak now of bodies which have not yet been buried, and which have been kept in the ordinary way, partly covered by a shroud, and lying on the back, in a loosely covered coffin.
If the bodies have been left in their ordinary clothes, the appearances are just the same. In such bodies, one of the first noticeable changes is the paleness of the skin and its mottling with irregular livid patches. After a short time the blood settles in the vessels of the more dependent portions of the body, and the skin which covers the back of the trunk and extremities becomes of a livid red color.
In many cases, if we cut through the skin, we find the tissues beneath congested and infiltrated with bloody scum; in bodies which have been kept for a number of days in cold weather, this red color is also seen on the anterior portions of the body, especially on the face and neck. In hot weather, the red color is very soon altered by decomposition; if the epidermis has been detached at any point, the skin beneath this is dry, hard and red. In warm weather, we may find, for a few hours after death, broad, bluish lines, corresponding to the cutaneous veins, ramifying in the skin of the neck and thorax. These lines are formed by the escape of the coloring matter of the blood from the vessels.