Embalmers Trivia

1. According to Arizona Motorcycle Escorts, what is the average speed a hearse should travel at while going in procession to the cemetery if the hearse takes surface streets (with a 30 MPH limit) through a city?

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Funeral Directing

Answer: 23 MPH

The safety of all parties involved in a procession is of the utmost of importance. At 23 MPH, you are not going so slow that you would cause accidents, yet you are going slow enough to control the entourage. Families generally think you are going slow to show respect for the deceased. Of course, we want to do that, however the main reason for that speed is to ensure the safety of those partaking in the procession.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: the carotid artery

The common carotid artery is located in your neck above your collar bone. It is cream colored and is hollow, much like a smooth rigatoni noodle.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Trocar

The trocar is a long, hollow needle used to puncture the internal organs and remove blood from these organs.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Funeral Directing

Answer: the foot end of the casket facing the congregation

It is done this way because, during life, the priest spent his time at the altar looking out into the congregation. Parishioners are done the opposite way (foot end of the casket facing the altar) because that was the position they held in the church during life.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: trocar

The trocar is generally about 18-24 inches long and is used in conjunction with an aspirator to clear the cavities of fluids and gasses. This step of the embalming process is necessary to delay decomposition from occuring.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Right carotid artery

The right carotid artery is located in the neck.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: Scarpa's triangle

Scarpa's triangle is used as a guideline for embalmers to find the femoral artery. This Triangle is composed of two leg muscles and a ligament. In the middle of the triangle you will find the femoral artery.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Thigh

The femur is the long bone in the upper leg, which is where 'femoral' artery comes from.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Funeral Directing

Answer: Any of these

The two important things here are the minimum protective container and the permit. The container could be anything from a cardboard/plywood constructed container all the way up to a bronze casket. I once served a family who constructed their own casket out of wood. We then placed their father in that casket. The family then loaded the casket in the back of their pick-up truck and drove across state lines, with the permit, to the cemetery for burial.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: Baseball stitch

The baseball stitch is named because it is the same one used on baseballs. It is most popular because of the ease at which it can be done and the tightness of closure it provides.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Canula

The canula is a dull-tipped hollow tube that is placed inside the artery. Embalming fluid passes through the embalming machine hose, through this tube and into the body.

From Quiz Raising the Dead

Answer: Retort

The retort is a brick-lined chamber in which the body is placed for cremation. Refractory refers to the type of bricks used, while a body container is the mandatory container in which a corpse must be placed before cremation. The crematory is, of course, a furnace itself, which can reach up to 1800°F.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Funeral Directing

Answer: all-wood

Traditionally, people of the Jewish faith are buried in all-wood caskets. They are usually dressed in an all white shroud, and a bit of "Holy Earth" (sacred dirt) is placed under their head.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours

This is for "typical" cases. If the deceased had certain diseases or trauma it will take longer to perform the embalming procedure. I once worked for over six hours on a female who had been in an auto accident .

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: 50

From Quiz Raising the Dead

Answer: Just above the naval.

The trocar, a pointed, cylindrical object, is inserted just above the naval, two inches up and to the right, in order to pierce the hollow organs beneath the chest cavity. The organs are then drained to preserve the corpse.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Funeral Directing

Answer: removal

The removal usually provides the funeral director with some interesting stories. Many times, family members will be present for these removals. With that in mind, we have to be on our best behavior, because the families can see the amount of care used with their loved one. You can imagine that we see all kinds of emotion on these removals. I've seen everything from wailing all the way to a celebratory type of atmosphere. We as funeral directors never know what we will come across when we go on a removal.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: the jugular vein

This is pretty easy. Ever hear of "going for the jugular"? It's a must in my line of work. The embalmer uses the jugular vein as a portal to remove the blood from the deceased. Blood is removed to delay the decomposition process.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Needle injector

Small tacks with wires attached to them are injected into the upper and lower jaws of dead humans using a needle injector. The two wires are then pulled together and twisted to hold the jaws together and therefore close the mouth.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Funeral Directing

Answer: 1400-1600 degrees Fahrenheit

At this temperature, it takes the average case approximately 2 hours to be cremated. After the cremation, all that is left are bone fragments. These fragments can be somewhat large, so they are further reduced in size with a grinding machine. The cremated remains are not so much ash as they are small bone fragments.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: punch

Embalming fluids come in several different colors such as pink, orange, red and purple. Each fluid serves a purpose. Some will reduce the amount of water in the deceased while others will prevent the deceased from becoming dehydrated. All of the fluids aid in properly preserving the deceased while making them appear better to their families Though the fluids do look like punch, I would not recommend drinking any.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Right jugular vein

Your circulation system is a closed or collateral system. As embalming fluid is injected into the artery, the fluid going in pushes the blood out through the jugular vein.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Funeral Directing

Answer: keeping remains in a refrigeration unit

"Thermal Reduction" is a contractual term used by some funeral homes when they charge for having remains stored in their refrigeration units. This is not often incurred by the family. It usually comes about when a deceased is left in the care of a funeral home for an extraordinary amount of time, like several weeks or months.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: properly disinfect a body

Of course all of these items are very important to an embalmer. However our main function is to protect the public from a spread of disease.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Mouth former

A mouth former is a plastic device that is similar to a football mouth piece. The mouth is closed and it is placed over the teeth to fill out the lips.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: The Civil War

Embalming enabled people to send the deceased back to their homes so families could pay their last respects during the Civil War.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Osiris

Just a little history for ya! Osiris was to the Egyptians what St. Peter is to the Christians.

From Quiz Interesting Facts About Embalming

Answer: The amount of time used to embalm the case

As a beginning embalmer, this is something I struggled with. If a case is under-embalmed it will begin to decompose. If a case is over-embalmed it will become dehydrated and it will have a poor appearance. The key to a good embalming is to know when you have the right mix of the above. A good embalming leads to an easier application of cosmetics, which generally leads to a happy client family.

From Quiz Embalmers Beware!

Answer: Drainage

Angular spring forceps (giant tweezers with a curve in them) are placed inside the vein to open it up and facilitate drainage. They can be pinched together and worked in and out of the vein to disperse blood clots.

This is category 21643

= Top 5% Rated Quiz, Top 10% Rated Quiz, Top 20% Rated Quiz, A Well Rated Quiz
= added recently, = Editor's Pick = FunTrivia Editor = Gold Member
Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.