Removing Formaldehyde from Embalmed Cadavers by Percolating the Body Cavities with Dilute Ethanol

摘要

Formaldehyde was removed from embalmed animal cadavers by pumping ethanol (20) through the pleural and peritoneal cavities of 4 goats, 4 cows and 4 horses. The goats were percolated intermittently for 7 days and the large animals continuously for 72 h. Just after opening the body cavities, samples of air close to the organs were collected and analyzed for formaldehyde using a spectrofluorimetric method. The concentration of formaldehyde in the air samples was in goats 0.45 ± 0.44 µg/l (mean ± SD), cows 0.42 ± 0.29 µg/l and horses 0.43 ± 0.25