# Death and poo

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-poo/285341>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 18, 2005, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-poo/285341 "2005-01-18T09:33:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-poo/285341/1 "2005-01-18T09:33:04Z")

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Do they do anything special with the body to deal with the poo left in the intestines during embalming? Do they flush it out of the body, or do they sew up the anus, or do they just leave it there and hope it does not leak out during the open casket viewing?

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**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-poo/285341/2 "2005-01-18T10:12:38Z")

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From [this site](http://www.baris.net/bfh/embalm.html):

> [@](#):
>
> The next step, called cavity embalming, is the application of full strength fluid to the internal organs of the remains. A small incision is made just above the navel, and a long needle called a trocar is placed inside the abdominal and thoracic cavities of the remains. The funeral director aspirates both the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Aspiration is the removal of blood and other bodily fluids, through suction. A suction pump, either water or electric powered is used to remove these fluids. The trocar is then attached to a gravity fed system, which caused full strength fluid to be put into each organ, causing a more thorough disinfection and preservation of the remains All incisions are then sutured closed…

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**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-poo/285341/3 "2005-01-18T13:38:36Z")

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I worked in a funeral home for about a year and they do indeed aspirate the bodies—although they made no incision and it wasn’t just above the navel. What they had was akin to a hyperdermic (sp?) needle, but it was 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter. It was connected to a plastic tube that was hooked to the drainage sink and the bernoulli effect was used to create the suction. The funeral director would drive the needle in just below the solar plexus (they had to really lean into it) and then would push it in and pull it (almost) out at different angles so that they were covering most of the insides of the torso. They would go up into the lungs and down to the lower abdomen.

The effect was amazing. We had one kid who died of lukemia and when he came in he looked like a puffed-up couch potato; when they finished he looked like a lean athelete (his normal physique).