Care and Disposition of Remains - Army Publishing Directorate ...

Blood discoloration
D i s c o l o r a t i o n r e s u l t i n g f r o m c h a n g e s i n b l o o d c o m p o s i t i o n , c o n t e n t , o r l o c a t i o n , e i t h e r i n t r a v a s c u l a r l y o r
extravascularyly.
Cadaveric lividity
Postmortem intravascular red-blue discoloration resulting from hypostasis of blood.
Cavity fluid
Embalming chemical that is injected into a body cavity following aspiration in cavity embalming. Cavity fluid can also
be used as the chemical in hypodermic and surface embalming.
Coagulating agents
Chemical and physical agents that bring about coagulation.
Communicable disease
Disease that may be transmitted either directly or indirectly between individuals by an infectious agent.
Cosmetic fluid
Embalming fluid that contains active dyes and coloring agents intended to restore a more natural skin tone through the
embalming process.
Coverall
Plastic garment designed to cover the body from the chest down to the upper thigh.
Cranial embalming
Method used to embalm the contents of the cranial cavity through aspiration and injection of the cranial chamber by
passage of a trocar through the cribriform plate.
Cremated remains
Those elements remaining after cremation of a dead human body.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Disease of the central nervous system with unknown etiology, assumed to be a slow virus. Because etiology is
unknown, caregivers using invasive procedures use extreme caution.
Decomposition
Separation of compounds into simpler substances by the action of microbial and/or autolytic enzymes.
Dehydration
Loss of moisture from body tissue that may occur antemortem or postmortem (antemortem: febrile disease, diarrhea, or
emesis; postmortem: injection of embalming solution or through absorption by the air).
Desiccation
Process of drying out.
Desquamation (skin-slip)
Sloughing off of the epidermis, wherein there is a separation of the epidermis from the underlying dermis.
Discoloration
Any abnormal color in or on the human body.
Edema
Abnormal accumulation of fluids in tissue or body cavities.
Embalming
Process of chemically treating the dead human body to reduce the presence and growth of microorganisms, to retard
organic decomposition, and to restore and acceptable physical appearance. There are four types of embalming:
Cavity embalming. Direct treatment other than vascular (arterial) embalming of the contents of the body cavities and
the lumina of the hollow viscera. Usually accomplished by aspiration and then injection of chemicals using a trocar.
Hypodermic embalming. Injection of embalming chemicals directly into the tissues through the use of a syringe and
needle or a trocar.
144 AR 638–2 • 22 December 2000