This process, which has been successfully employed in Europe for a long time, for the purpose of embalming bodies and for the preservation of anatomical preparations, is still practised extensively, owing to the cheapness of the materials used and to the simplicity of the modus operandi.
The embalming fluid in this instance is composed as follows, viz.:
| Sulphate of alumina, | 4 pounds. |
| Arsenious acid, | 4 ounces. |
| Creasote, | 4 ounces. |
| Water, | 1 gallon. |
To prepare this fluid, an explanation of its constituents is required.
There are two different kinds of arsenious acid, the opaque and the transparent. This latter variety (the transparent) should be selected in preference to the other, on account of its greater solubility; the acid must also be procured in crystals, and not in powder, as it will, in the first place, dissolve quicker, and will not be liable to be adulterated. The water must then be heated to 55°, and the acid dissolved in it. The sulphate of alumina is then to be added, and, after being completely dissolved, let the solution cool off to the usual temperature; then add the creasote, and, after stirring gently, the solution is ready for use.
Lay the body on an inclined board, as described in a former chapter, and, after thoroughly cleansing with water and soap, saturate well with a concentrated solution of alum; the body should be kept well moistened with the solution, as prescribed in the processes of embalming already given, until the operation is completed.
Through an opening made in the skin of the abdomen, and immediately over the transverse part of the colon, the bowels and the stomach will then be revealed, which must be emptied of their contents and properly cleaned, and injected with the above preparation.
After the contents of the abdomen have thus been treated, the whole abdominal viscera is to be heavily sprinkled over with tannic acid, until the acid forms a layer about one-half inch in thickness between the bowels and the skin of the abdomen; the flaps of the skin are then brought together and neatly sewed up.
The femoral vein is then opened. The femoral vein ascends the thigh in the sheath of the femoral artery, and, entering the pelvis beneath Poupart’s ligament, becomes the external iliac vein. In the lower part of its course, it is situated on the outer side of the artery; it then becomes placed behind that vessel, and at Poupart’s ligament lies to the inner side. It receives the muscular veins and propenda, and, through the saphenous opening, the internal saphenous vein.