Disposal of Human Corpses - Special Cases

Special Cases

Certain conditions such as necrosis can cause parts of the body such as limbs or internal organs to die without causing the death of the individual. In such cases the body parts are usually not given a funeral. Surgical removal of dead tissue is usually necessary to prevent gangrenous infection. Surgically removed body parts are typically disposed of as medical waste, unless they need to be preserved for cultural reasons, as described above.

Conversely, donated organs or tissue may live on long after the death of an individual.

Attitudes towards stillborn fetuses have changed in recent years; in the past they were often disposed of as medical waste, but are now commonly given funerals.

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