Post mortem

As a nursing assistant, sometimes you might be present when one of your clients dies. In this case, you should let the In addition, death needs to be legally confirmed by a physician or Now, after death has been determined, you need to assist the Sometimes, cultural or religious beliefs can dictate how the This is important to do before rigor mortis sets in, which is the stiffening of Once this happens, it’s difficult to This is a natural process, and there’s no need to be afraid. Sometimes, an autopsy needs to be done in order to confirm the cause of the individual’s death. An autopsy is the examination of the individual’s organs and tissues after death. When performed, medical devices, like tubes, drains, Before anything else, the skin needs to be cleaned of mucus, urine, feces, or other fluids. That’s because bodily fluids may be infectious, even after death. Sitemap USMLE® is a joint program of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). COMLEX-USA® is a registered trademark of The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, Inc. NCLEX-RN® is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. Test names and other trademarks are the property of the respective trademark holders. None of the trademark holders are endorsed by nor affiliated with Osmosis or this website.

Image via bbc.com The photo above is an extended family gathered in the parlor to pose for a portrait – or is it? Photographs were increasingly becoming more affordable and accessible in the late 1850’s, but the family still put on their best clothes for the event. Upon viewing the image almost two-hundred years later, perhaps audiences today would be shocked, even horrified, to discover that the young girl asleep with her favorite teddy bear in the forefront had recently died. Post-mortem photography of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century is, at first glance, difficult to spot. Is a family member’s neck at a strange angle? Many are in a reclining position, slightly propped up to seem like they are supporting themselves. Do their eyes look strange? Maybe the photographer painted eyes on the image after development. Is only one figure in focus? Nineteenth-century photography required that subjects remain absolutely still, or else they would appear blurry in the picture. The deceased, of course, were very skilled at remaining still for portraits. This child’s eyes are hand-painted open on tintype, circa 1870. Image via Burns Archive via HIstory.com Americans in the 1800s were far more intimately acquainted with death than we are today. Most of this was out of necessity–before embalming procedures became popularized, it was the duty of the family to quickly prepare the body for a viewing and burial. Families would typically hold viewings in their own parlors at ho...