Preservatives

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Preservatives are a percentage based mixture of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, or in some cases phenol, which are then diluted to gain the final index of the arterial solution.

Preservatives are used in modern embalming to temporarily prevent decomposition and restore a natural appearace for viewing a body after death. A mixture of preservatives is known as embalming fluid and is used to preserve deceased individuals, sometimes only until the funeral, other times indefinitely.

The preservatives in embalming fluid acts to denature cellular protiens, therefore they cannot act as a nutrient source for bacteria themselves. Formaldehyde fixes tissues or cells by irreversibly connecting a primary amine group in a protien molecule with a nearby nitrogen in a protien or DNA molecule. The end result creates the simulation, via color changes, of the appearance of blood flowing under the skin.

I find it interesting that a mixture of chemicals injected into a decessed body can preserve it for, in some cases, many years after death.

Preservatives are important to our chemistry class because it is necessary to distinguish between arterial chemicals which is generally taken to be the product in its original composition, and an arterial solution, which is a diluted mixture of chemicals and made to order for each body.

I understand how preservatives work.