# What happens to amputated body parts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837 "2008-07-17T15:51:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/1 "2008-07-17T15:51:52Z")
I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone yesterday, and she raised the question of what happens to body parts that are surgically removed. I have no idea how medical waste is disposed of. Any help? My best guess is incineration; my friend is betting on dog food. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/2 "2008-07-17T16:05:05Z")
Incineration ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/3 "2008-07-17T16:10:18Z")
A bizarre thought occurred to me the other day, and this thread is the perfect place for it. If someone underwent a hemicorporectomy ( [Hemicorporectomy - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemicorporectomy) ), then that person could literally be Handed His/Her Own Ass On A Platter. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/4 "2008-07-17T16:13:12Z")
No cite, but I recall a story where an instructor kept his heart in a jar after his transplant. Used it in his class. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/5 "2008-07-17T16:16:44Z")
[QUOTE=Projammer] No cite, but I recall a story where an instructor kept his heart in a jar after his transplant. Used it in his class. [/QUOTE] At least he couldn’t be accused of being a heartless old fool. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/6 "2008-07-17T17:04:41Z")
Vienna sausages. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/7 "2008-07-17T17:24:32Z")
Chef Boyardee. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/8 "2008-07-17T17:36:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Q What happens to amputated limbs? > > A After the limb is amputated, it is taken to the hospital’s pathology lab. It is kept in a freezer there until it is collected for cremation and proper disposal, according to pathologist assistant Kristin Giesen at Hennepin County Medical Center. Patients can also choose to have the limb sent to a funeral home for cremation or burial. Hospitals can only release body parts to a funeral home. [http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/11311216.html](http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/11311216.html) ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/9 "2008-07-17T17:39:57Z")
Veterinary version: depends on local laws. My advice: avoid dumpster diving at your local veterinary hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/10 "2008-07-17T17:40:14Z")
After it goes through the histopathology lab, where pieces will be removed for sectioning and staining, the rest is just incinerated as medical waste. Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve sectioned tonsils and placentas and intestines. And then some. Once we get the parts we need for the pathologist to analyze, the rest is stored in a little container of formalin until we dispose of it. Hospitals have different rules about how long you keep the specimen, in case the pathologist wants to see something else, but they’re not kept forever. I’m sure there are some cases in which the amputated limb or removed organ could be used as a teaching tool, or preserved for a museum, presuming that the original “owner” of the part has consented. Antigen (MT) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/11 "2008-07-17T18:08:19Z")
Cool, thanks for the help, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Lisa\_Ann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lisa\_Ann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa_Ann)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/12 "2008-07-17T18:17:52Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Veterinary version: depends on local laws. My advice: avoid dumpster diving at your local veterinary hospital. [/QUOTE] Eww? Please share. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/13 "2008-07-17T18:29:39Z")
[QUOTE=Lisa Ann] Eww? Please share. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Nothing too exciting. I use a cremation company for whole pets, but assorted tumors/body parts are trashed. One day my dog got into that day’s surgical waste; it was around 12 uteruses (uteri?) and maybe 20 testicles (ten pair). She gulped the snack down. There was enough ketamine, tilletamine, zolazepam, etc in her snack to make her wobbly for the remainder of the day. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/14 "2008-07-17T19:19:04Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Nothing too exciting. I use a cremation company for whole pets, but assorted tumors/body parts are trashed. One day my dog got into that day’s surgical waste; it was around 12 uteruses (uteri?) and maybe 20 testicles (ten pair). She gulped the snack down. There was enough ketamine, tilletamine, zolazepam, etc in her snack to make her wobbly for the remainder of the day. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I’m caught in this weird place between laughing and gagging. Thank you (I think). ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/15 "2008-07-17T19:50:52Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] There was enough ketamine, tilletamine, zolazepam, etc in her snack to make her wobbly for the remainder of the day. [/QUOTE] You realize you may have issued an inadvertent invitation to some unsavory types, right? “Dude! Don’t bogart the dog uteruses!” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/16 "2008-07-17T20:24:21Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] [http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/11311216.html](http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/11311216.html) [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > Patients can also choose to have the limb sent to a funeral home for cremation or burial Wow, that’s just - weird. Well, the burial bit is weird. Can anyone flesh out (ahahaha) what that means in practice? Do they put the amputated foot in a little foot-shaped coffin and bury it? Do they wait until they’ve got a standard-sized coffin full of parts and bury them all en masse? Do they bother with a casket at all? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/17 "2008-07-17T20:37:46Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Wow, that’s just - weird. Well, the burial bit is weird. Can anyone flesh out (ahahaha) what that means in practice? Do they put the amputated foot in a little foot-shaped coffin and bury it? Do they wait until they’ve got a standard-sized coffin full of parts and bury them all en masse? Do they bother with a casket at all? [/QUOTE] Some religions (strict orthodox Jews, for one example) believe all parts of the body must be buried together. (Thus the volunteers in Israel who use paper towels to soak up all the blood on the street after a bombing, so that it can be buried along with the body.) As I understand it, the body part is either buried on it’s own in the cemetery plot where that person will eventually be buried, or kept until the person dies, and then is buried with them. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/18 "2008-07-17T20:42:27Z")
Here’s a chart of state regulations for disposal of medical waste: [http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?type=document&id=765](http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?type=document&id=765) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/19 "2008-07-17T20:52:31Z")
Two Civil War stories. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s arm, amputated eight days before his death from battlefield wounds, was buried in a different place from him. And Gen. Dan Sickles visited the displayed bones of his amputated leg at an Army medical museum for many years. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837/20 "2008-07-17T21:03:24Z")
I’ll tell you a true story. My uncle was in a near-fatal car crash in 1992. Part of his leg got smushed for want of a precise medical term. His foot and part of his leg was intact but above that up to just below the knee was mince. They amputated below the knee. It was my father’s task to drive the leg to their home place and get it buried in my uncle’s future burial plot. This would have been a bizarre thing to be doing at the best of times but in 1992 Northern Ireland my dad had every chance of being stopped at a British Army checkpoint and would have had fun explaining to Lieutenant Chomondley why he had a bag containing a severed foot. Fortunately he didn’t come across any checkpoints. My uncle has one foot in the grave to this day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-amputated-body-parts/456837.md?page=2)