Improvement of the Embalming Perfusion Method: The Innovation and the Results by Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy

Abstract

Embalming is a chemical process that aims the preservation and sanitization of the human body indefinitely. The technique of embalming is an important tool in teaching and research in anatomy enabling the preservation of cadaveric material in good conditions (lessening any significant structural changes and maintaining the natural appearance). This article presents the results of embalmed cadavers in the course of arterial perfusion, through the use of a perfusion machine, particularly designed to this objective, and which allows the control of the embalming fluid injection process. The influence of this technique and the optimization of its parameters on the final quality of embalming were evaluated by sequential histological analysis of the cadaveric tissues using an original method of classification of samples collected from 17 deceased corpses of the Corpses Donation Office of the Department of Anatomy of Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, subject to the embalming technique developed in the Department. We concluded that, with this method, there is a decrease of the decomposition process at the time of embalming, which is effective at long term (over a year), requiring merely the maintenance of the body at low temperatures (4 degrees C) and it is possible to observe that the tissue best preserved over time is muscle, showing a conservation considered optimal.