Mortuary Science

DEATH AND BURIAL. As far back as records go, we have evidence of the dead being laid to rest with care and ritual. Burial gifts, including food vessels and household utensils from different eras, have been discovered in archaeological remains in various parts of the world. These gifts are thought to have been intended for the use of the deceased on his or her journey to paradise or the land of the dead and to secure entry and acceptance in the new abode.

from The Columbia Encyclopedia - cessation of all life (metabolic) processes. Death may involve the organism as a whole (somatic death) or may be confined to cells and tissues within the organism. Causes of death in human beings include injury, acute or chronic disease, and neoplasia (cancer). The physiological death of cells that are normally replaced throughout life is called necrobiosis; the death of cells caused by external changes, such as an abnormal lack of blood supply, is called necrosis. is characterized by the discontinuance of cardiac activity and respiration, and eventually leads to the death of all body cells from lack of oxygen, although for approximately six minutes after somatic death—a period referred to as clinical death—a person whose vital organs have not been damaged may be revived.