Decomposition

If you take nothing else from our resources, we hope you leave with the understanding that the dead are not dangerous to the living.

“A person who dies is not, in themselves, a health threat to people around,” Dr. David Nabarro, executive director for sustainable development and healthy environments at the World Health Organization, said Wednesday.

“After a number of hours, the pathogens inside the dead person’s body become not dangerous. They usually decompose and die. And the dead person therefore is not a primary threat to the health of others.”

via Corpses Pose Little Threat

Even a decomposing body (which, let’s face it, is not altogether pleasant visually or olfactorily) is safe. The bacteria involved in decomposition are not the same bacteria that cause disease. Even maggots and insects present no threat to public health.

“…the presence of dead bodies should not be considered an important public health risk. There is little evidence to suggest that human or animal corpses are a risk…”

– Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization

We can talk you through this further in our video, Are Dead Bodies Dangerous?

There are some exceptions to the “every dead body is safe” rule.

Dead bodies that are safe: trauma and accident victims, cancer deaths, heart deaths, liver deaths, stroke deaths, the list carries on.

Dead bodies that may not be safe: Bodies that died of specific and rare infectious diseases such as ebola, avian bird flu, tuberculosis, hepatitis B & C.

When was the last time you heard of someone in your town dying of ebola or tuberculosis? That’s not to say it’s impossible! Just that these are the slim exceptions that prove the rule that dead bodies are overwhelmingly safe to be around and handle.

More from the World Health Organization, plus a run down from Slate.

Are Covid-19 bodies infectious and dangerous postmortem?

Experts do not believe that the virus can be transmitted posthumously. Remember that the Covid-19 virus is spread “primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This type of spread is not a concern after death.”

There is currently no known risk associated with being in the same room with the body of someone who died of Covid-19.

Sources: Center for Disease Control, New York Times

For more detailed information and answers, head over to our guide on Burials and Funerals Under Covid-19.

The rise in forensic human decomposition research centers (sometimes called Body Farms) has taught us so much about human decomposition, and how it proceeds in different environments.

Decomposition begins several minutes after death, with a process called autolysis, or self-digestion. Soon after the heart stops beating, cells become deprived of oxygen, and their acidity increases as the toxic byproducts of chemical reactions begin to accumulate inside them. Enzymes start to digest cell membranes and then leak out as the cells break down. This usually begins in the liver, which is enriched in enzymes, and in the brain, which has high water content; eventually, though, all other tissues and organs begin to break down in this way. Damaged blood cells spill out of broken vessels and, aided by gravity, settle in the capillaries and small veins, discolouring the skin.

Body temperature also begins to drop, until it has acclimatized to its surroundings. Then, rigor mortis—the stiffness of death—sets in, starting in the eyelids, jaw and neck muscles, before working its way into the trunk and then the limbs. In life, muscle cells contract and relax due to the actions of two filamentous proteins, called actin and myosin, which slide along each other. After death, the cells are depleted of their energy source, and the protein filaments become locked in place. This causes the muscles to become rigid, and locks the joints.

via The Science of Human Decomposition

Some of our most frequently asked questions here at The Order have to do with decomposition. The one that gets asked the most goes something like this: “My _____ (aunt, grandparent, friend, or pet) was buried in 2018—can you tell me what they look like now?” This question is almost always posed with a caveat, “I hope that’s not too weird or morbid. Is there something wrong with me?”

First, we want to assure you that you’re not alone! How many of us sneak a look at our exes, or old classmates’ Instagrams to see how they’re doing, or what they look like now? The impulse to know what is happening to someone we once shared our lives with doesn’t end at death.

The problem is, we can’t answer this question because there are so many variables involved. The process and speed of decomposition varies drastically depending on environment, temperature, humidity, as well as other factors like type of casket and whether or not the body embalmed. Here’s a great video about the many ways to decay.

Still curious? Good! Here are a few more resources for you:

• Visit a body farm (warning: graphic images) to get an up close view of what real—not zombie or crime show—decomposition looks like in a video from Vox.
• A team of scientists sets out to understand what happens to a dead body in the ocean.
• Hear more about how food is digested (or not digested) post mortem in this video on Last Meals & Fossilized Poop.

Rigor mortis is the stiffening of the muscles two to six hours after a death occurs.

At the moment of death, the muscles relax completely—a condition called “primary flaccidity.” The muscles then stiffen, perhaps due to coagulation of muscle proteins or a shift in the muscle’s energy containers (ATP-ADP), into a condition known as rigor mortis. All of the body’s muscles are affected. Rigor mortis begins within two to six hours of death, starting with the eyelids, neck, and jaw. This sequence may be due to the difference in lactic acid levels among different muscles, which corresponds to the difference in glycogen levels and to the different types of muscle fibers. Over the next four to six hours, rigor mortis spreads to the other muscles, including those in the internal organs such as the heart.

After being in this rigid condition for twenty-four to eighty-four hours, the muscles relax and secondary laxity (flaccidity) develops, usually in the same order as it began. The length of time rigor mortis lasts depends on multiple factors, particularly the ambient temperature.

via Death Reference

“Move on their own” implies they are willfully moving. It implies the brain or spirit still animates the body, and that they’ve made a choice to change positions. Alas, after death, our bodies become subject to the biological changes happening inside of us.

As the bacteria consume our insides, they release gas and waste. This causes the abdomen to bloat. We may be dead, but there’s still a life-filled party inside our corpses. If the body is moved, built up gas may cause the body to moan or change positions. Muscles can continue to fire in strange ways after death as well.

So it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see a body twitching, making small movements, or small noises. That’s just the post mortem changes happening within.

But any tales of the body sitting straight up, raising a hand toward you, and wailing, are likely the product of tall tales or overactive imaginations.  Happy to help (or sorry to disappoint.)

Why yes, they can. But not always– by any means!

Enjoy this video on the realities of Corpse Poo.