The Chemistry of Death

One has to admire the sang-froid of the learned physician and anatomist Dr William Evans (1920-1964). I came across the following passage in his book "The Chemistry of Death" (1963) and was struck by how he gives this highly detailed description of a cremation he has witnessed in such a detached and matter of fact way. Be warned, this is not for the faint-hearted:

`The coffin is introduced into the furnace where it rapidly catches fire, bulges and warps, and the coffin sides may collapse and fall, exposing the remains to the direct effect of the flames. The skin and hair at once scorch, char and burn ... The muscles slowly contract, and there may be a steady spreading of the thighs with gradually developing flexion of the limbs ... Occasionally there is a swelling of the abdomen before the skin and abdominal muscles char and split; the swelling is due to the formation of steam and the expansion of gases in the abdominal contents. Destruction of the soft tissues gradually exposes parts of the skeleton. The skull is soon devoid of covering, then the bones of the limbs appear, commencing at the extremities of the limbs where they are relatively poorly covered by muscle or fat, and the ribs also become exposed. The small bones of the fingers, wrists and ankles remain united by their ligaments for a surprising length of time, maintaining their anatomical relationships even though the hands and feet may fall away from the adjacent long bones. The abdominal contents burn fairly slowly, and the lungs more slowly still ... The brain is specially resistant to complete combustion ... Eventually the spine becomes visible as the viscera disappear, the bones glow whitely in the flames and the skeleton falls apart.'

Bone Idle