Body Processing

As disquieting as it might be to consider what happens to a body after death, this information is good to have if you’re planning a cremation or a service at a funeral home in Little Elm, TX. Here is a breakdown of what happens to a body after death, from death pronouncement to final decomposition.

1. Pronouncement of Death – The death pronouncement is when the person is officially declared dead by a medical professional. It can be different from the actual time of death as sometimes doctors are not present when the person actually dies. Instead, the death pronouncement is given after the doctor examines the body and determines that passing has occurred.
2. Body Transportation – After a death, someone has to notify the funeral home or cremation provider and then have someone come to the place of death and transport it to the funeral home or cremation location.
3. Preservation – There are several ways bodies are preserved before a cremation service or funeral including refrigeration and embalming. Bodies are kept cold with ice, dry ice, air conditioning, or refrigerators. They can also be traditionally embalmed or eco-embalmed, which is a method that does not use formaldehyde.
4. Various Memorial Events – Most people choose to have some kind of memorial event for their lost loved ones. The most traditional events are viewings, visitations, and wakes. A viewing or wake is when the embalmed body is present, and visitation may or may not have the body present. Viewings and wakes are also generally more religious than wakes. There are also traditional funerals, which are services in which the body is present in a casket. Funerals are also usually religious events held at funeral homes or churches. Families can also choose to be less traditional and host a memorial. Memorials are services at which the body is not present, either because the body was cremated or because the body was already buried.
5. Service Before the Final Disposition – The body’s final disposition is where the body will be put to rest. Whether the body is buried or interned in a tomb or mausoleum, the service for final disposition is called a committal. When a body is cremated and placed in an urn or scattered, the ceremony is called a cremation ceremony or a scattering service.
6. Final Disposition – There are many different ways to put a body to rest, but the most common include burial and cremation. Bodies can be buried in the ground at a cemetery, above-ground in a mausoleum, entombment in a lawn crypt, or naturally buried in other locations. Final disposition options after cremation include cremation with burial in a cemetery, above-ground burial in a columbarium, scattering of ashes, and inurnment with the urn kept at home. There are also alternative disposition methods such as alkaline hydrolysis, burial or scattering at sea, and body preservation.

Pre-planning is determining the details of your funeral and cemetery services in advance.  This is a short explanation of what happens to a body after death. We are here to help if you want to learn more about the process or Little Elm, TX funeral homes. Call or visit us today.