# What happens when we die? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-we-die/160751 "2003-03-12T04:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nytemiste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@nytemiste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nytemiste)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-we-die/160751/1 "2003-03-12T04:56:30Z")
I hope you can or will answer this question. It’s been bugging me for a long time. What is the difference between a Mortuary and a Funeral Home? I have one of each near me, so I don’t feel they are the same thing. Noone I ask knows what could be the difference. They have different names so I would assume they offer different things. Also, it strikes me that we know more about how the ancient egyptians prepared bodies back then, but I have no idea what will be done with my body once I die…What do they do to bodies once they arrive at the funeral homes/mortuaries? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-we-die/160751/2 "2003-03-12T05:10:28Z")
> [@](#): > > _from [**this site**](http://www.angelfire.com/music2/PerpetualDemise/odd_embalm.html)_ > **[ul][1.] The body is completely undressed. > [2.] The limbs are gently stretched and massaged to lessen the effects of the relentless rigor mortus. > [3.] The body is washed. > [4.] An artery and vein in either the neck, armpit, or groin are cut open and all the corpse’s blood is drained out. This is usually done on a table with gutters that drain to a receptacle of some sort. > [5.] The veins are filled with embalming fluid. This is a formaldehyde-based liquid that, ironically, looks like blood. (This is coincidental, not aesthetically intentional.) > [6.] A large syringe is inserted into the navel and the contents of the stomach and abdomen are pumped out. > [7.] The abdomen is filled with between 8 and 10 pints of embalming fluid. > [8.] Cups or pads are placed over the eyeballs to prevent a sunken look and the eyelids are sewn shut. Any necessary reconstructive work is performed. > [9.] The body is attended to cosmetically: The hair is washed and set on women; the beard is shaven on men. Makeup is applied to both the face and neck and hands. > [10.] The body is dressed. Usually the family provides something for the deceased to wear but, if necessary, the funeral home has a wide selection of inexpensive, paper-like clothing. > [11.] The body is placed in the coffin and arranged for viewing. The hands are manipulated so as to have a natural fall, and religious items are sometimes placed in the hands.[/ul]** ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-we-die/160751/3 "2003-03-12T05:16:45Z")
If you prefer cremation [**go here**](http://www.icfa.org/cremation_procedures.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-we-die/160751/4 "2003-03-12T06:30:01Z")
## [sub]quote: [1.] The body is completely undressed. [2.] The limbs are gently stretched and massaged to lessen the effects of the relentless rigor mortus. [3.] The body is washed. [4.] An artery and vein in either the neck, armpit, or groin are cut open and all the corpse’s blood is drained out. This is usually done on a table with gutters that drain to a receptacle of some sort. [5.] The veins are filled with embalming fluid. This is a formaldehyde-based liquid that, ironically, looks like blood. (This is coincidental, not aesthetically intentional.) [6.] A large syringe is inserted into the navel and the contents of the stomach and abdomen are pumped out. [7.] The abdomen is filled with between 8 and 10 pints of embalming fluid. ## \ [/sub] Jeez, if the dyin’ didn’t kill ya… ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-we-die/160751/5 "2003-03-12T06:47:18Z")
IANA Expert, but I think that Mortuary and Funeral Home are the same thing. Ditto with Mortician/Undertaker/Funeral Director. In my experience, the Funeral Home/Funeral Director terminology is of more recent vintage, designed as a marketing ploy to create a less harsh image in the minds of the public. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-we-die/160751/6 "2003-03-12T06:56:18Z")
According to [Merriam-Webster](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary) , a _mortuary_ is “a place in which dead bodies are kept until burial”. Therefore, the areas in hospitals where patients’ bodies are kept until picked up by funeral directors are called mortuaries. The word seems to date from 1865. A _funeral home_ (since 1926), is “an establishment with facilities for the preparation of the dead for burial or cremation, for the viewing of the body, and for funerals – called also _funeral parlor_.” I agree with **Fat Bald Guy** that the two terms, mortuary and funeral home, can be synonymous, the latter being more “genteel and PR/PC” than the former. I actually haven’t heard the business called “the undertaker’s” here in years.