The undertakers' manual

by Auguste Renouard

The eyes must next be attended to; the lids must be brought together firmly, avoiding at the same time interference with the lashes or the creation of wrinkles of the skin on the corners; then fold up neatly some small pieces of linen, well saturated in the following solution, which is also to be used to moisten the face with:

Alum, 8 ounces; Corrosive Sublimate, 2 ounces; Water, 1 gallon.

The linen pads should not exceed the size of a quarter dollar, and thoroughly saturated in the above solution before applying to the eyes. The face, after washing with soap and water, should be well moistened with the same solution, and a cloth laid carefully and evenly over the features, so as to come into direct contact with every part of them; this cloth must be kept moist with the above solution, and remain over the face until such time as the body is placed in the coffin, when the cloth may be removed previous to the lid being closed. This solution should be diluted with one-half water for use on children or persons whose skin is very fine. It must also be kept from a very strong light, in a glass bottle, and should, when used, never be mixed in a metallic vessel, but in a bowl, cup, or some dish of queens-ware or china.

The next step to be taken consists in preventing frothing or purging from the mouth and nostrils; also keeping down generation of gases, and swelling of the stomach and bowels.

For this purpose an incision about 4 or 5 inches in length is made in the abdomen, above the transverse arch of the colon; this incision will reveal the colon and upper part of the large intestines, also the stomach, a little to the left.

If the bowels are distended with gas, puncture first the colon and some of the smaller intestines, and, after expelling the air by firmly pressing on the abdomen, inject into the bowels about eight ounces of the following solution: Dissolve in one gallon of water as much alum as the water will take up, shaking at intervals; then pour off the clear liquor, and add to it two ounces chloride of zinc and two ounces corrosive sublimate. Keep this injecting solution in a cool, dark place.

The bowels being injected, the stomach must be emptied of its contents by puncturing its walls, and by pressing gently upon its outer surface in a downward direction; the matter contained in it will be forced out into the pleural cavity, and can then be either sponged or scooped out; the stomach is then to be injected in a similar manner as the bowels; some of the injecting fluid may be then poured between the interstices of the bowels, about (6 or 8 ounces), and some cotton batting be laid evenly over the bowels; this cotton should be well saturated with the solution after it is properly laid in its place. The lips of the wound may then be neatly brought together and sewed up.

It will be readily understood by the above described operation, that no gases can be generated in either the bowels or the stomach, as the injecting fluid in those parts of the viscera will effectually prevent their formation; and this being the case, the purging at the mouth and nostrils, which is the result of the escape of gas driving out the contents of the stomach, is avoided. The expansion of the abdominal viscera, or the bowels, is also prevented by the same cause.

In some instances, when the body is that of a stout, fleshy person, or especially when some length of time has elapsed from the time of death until the undertaker has been called in, and particularly if the body has been reclining in a horizontal position, the face, neck and shoulders, will be found highly congested with blood; the face, in fact, may be swelled and of a purple appearance, owing to the extravasation of blood into the capillary vessels under the skin.

In such cases, and after the body has been removed and placed into a proper position on the cooling board, if the blood is not carried to some lower part of the body by its own gravitation, it may be found necessary to cut into the jugular veins on either side of the neck, an incision about one quarter of an inch in length; through this opening the congested blood may be let out, and the face will soon recover its original color. This process, which occupies about twenty minutes, will be found preferable to the use of ice, especially when the corpse is at some distance from the undertaker’s place of business; or when it would be almost impracticable to carry a large and cumbrous ice box, besides the labor and bustle occasioned in the house of mourning by the carrying in and out of the box, ice, etc.