why do bodies look so different when they’re dead?

Question

I 23(f) have lost two close friends in horrific circumstances over the last few years. Can anyone explain to me why bodies,
particularly faces, looks so different after death – is it because they’ve been embalmed, or is it the human brain not being able to process what they’re seeing infront of them? Apologies if this is too gruesome for this sub, i think this might be me grieving and just trying to find some way to understand why.

In: Biology

Answer 1

Well, this is an interesting topic. Let’s look at what happens after death.

Once the body dies, the heart stops, and blood stops circulating, there’s no more oxygen getting to the body parts and waste isn’t being removed anymore. This causes a process called “autolysis”, or self-digestion, beginning at the moment of death. Excess carbon dioxide in the body causes an acidic environment, making the membranes in the cells rupture. These membranes release enzymes inside the cells that begin eating the cells from the inside out.

Rigor mortis, occurring 2-36 hours after death, causes the stiffening of muscles. Small blisters filled with nutrient-rich fluid appear on internal organs and the surface of the skin, causing it to have a shiny look, and the skin begins to loosen.

Livor mortis and algor mortis come next. Livor mortis becomes fixed 8-12 hours after death. This is when the blood isn’t moving and settles in the lowest point of the body, usually the back or stomach, causing reddish-purple discoloration.

Algor mortis is the stage of cold. Without the blood pumping and the body generating heat, it loses about 3-4 degrees of heat in the first hour, and 2 degrees of heat every hour after that in normal conditions. This stage ends 24-48 hours after death.

After four days, putrefaction starts and the body begins to rot.

Embalming replaces the blood in the body with chemicals to stop or slow down these processes, which is needed for modern funerals. “He looks so natural, doesn’t he?” No, he doesn’t. He’s been dead for one to two weeks. If he looked natural, he’d look like a zombie.