Module 3 Vocabulary

Question 1

Pressure Machines

Answer 1

Provide air pressure or vacuum and may be used for injection or aspiration

Question 2

Hydroaspirator

Answer 2

Apparatus that is connected to the water supply. When the water is turned on, suction is developed and is used to aspirate the contents of the body’s cavities

Question 3

Electric Aspirator

Answer 3

A device that uses a motor to create a suction for the purpose of aspiration.

Question 4

Gravity Injector

Answer 4

Apparatus used to inject arterial fluid during the vascular phase of the embalming process. Relies on gravity to create the pressure required to deliver the fluid. (0.43 lbs of pressure per 1 ft of elevation.)

Question 5

Hand pump

Answer 5

Historical instrument resembling a large hypodermic syringe attached to a bottle apparatus. Used to create either pressure for injection or vacuum for aspiration.

Question 6

Bulb Syringe

Answer 6

Self-contained, soft rubber manual pump designed to create pressure to deliver fluid as it passes through one-way valves located within the bulb. It is used only to deliver fluids; it cannot be used for aspiration.

Question 7

Electric Spatula

Answer 7

An electrically heated blade that may be used to dry moist tissue, reduce swollen tissue, and restore contour.

Question 8

Body lifts

Answer 8

Lifting device used to move the deceased from the removal cot to the embalming table; removal from the table to a dressing table, or placement within a casket; removal of shipped-in remains from the shipping container to the dressing table, placement of decedent into a shipping container.

Question 9

Sterilizers

Answer 9

Oven or appliance for sterilizing. An autoclave that sterilizes by steam under pressure at temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius.

Question 10

Positioning devices

Answer 10

Preparation room equipment for properly positioning bodies before, during, and after vascular embalming.

Question 11

Embalming Tables

Answer 11

Tables that are used in the preparation of the deceased

Question 12

Dressing tables

Answer 12

Tables used to dress the deceased after embalming to dress the deceased.

Question 13

Refrigeration

Answer 13

Used to slow the postmortem changes in the deceased body in particular decomposition.

Question 14

Sharps Container

Answer 14

OSHA required receptacle for proper disposal of sharps.

Question 15

Arterial Tubes

Answer 15

Tube used to inject embalming solution into the blood vascular system.

Question 16

Needle Injector

Answer 16

A mechanical device used to impel specially-designed metal pins into the bone

Question 17

Scalpal

Answer 17

Two-piece embalming instrument consisting of a handle and a blade used to make incisions and excisions.

Question 18

Aneurysm Hook

Answer 18

An embalming instrument that is use for blunt dissection and in raising vessels.

Question 19

Aneurysm Needle

Answer 19

An embalming instrument used for blunt dissection and in raising vessels that have an eye in the hook portion of the instrument for placing ligatures around the vessels.

Question 20

Bistoury Knife

Answer 20

A curved cutting instrument that cuts from the inside outward. Some embalmers prefer this type of instrument for opening arteries and veins. It can also be used for the excision of tissues.

Question 21

Scissors

Answer 21

Used for cutting. Like the scalpal and bistoury knife, scissors can be used to open arteries and veins.

Question 22

Groove Director

Answer 22

An instrument used to guide vein tubes into vessels

Question 23

Hemostats

Answer 23

An instrument used to clamp leaking vessels

Question 24

Arterial Fixation Forceps

Answer 24

An instrument used to hold the arterial tube in an artery

Question 25

Spring Forceps

Answer 25

An instrument used for grasping and holding tissues.

Question 26

Angular Spring Forceps

Answer 26

used as a drainage instrument, generally in the internal jugular vein. They are inserted like the drain tube into a vein and directed toward the heart. They allow clots to be grasped and pulled from within a vein.

Question 27

Retractors

Answer 27

An instrument that is used to hold an incision open or to hold back tissues.

Question 28

Drainage tubes

Answer 28

Metal cylinder with a cleaning rod designed to be inserted into a vein and always inserted toward the heart.

Question 29

Suture Needles

Answer 29

There are a variety of suture needles available such as the Large Postmortem needles which close autopsy incisions as well as incisions made to raise vessels for injection. The 3/8 in circle needle, used for more delicate suturing. The half-curved Loopuypt Needle is designed to better grip the instrument.

Question 30

Nasal Aspirator

Answer 30

Attaches to the aspirator hose. Designed to be inserted into the nostril or throat for limited aspiration of the passage or the throat.

Question 31

Autopsy Aspirator

Answer 31

An autopsy aspirator has many openings so as to be non-clogging. It is used to aspirate blood and arterial fluid from the cavities of autopsied bodies.

Question 32

Trocar

Answer 32

Long hollow needle. The length and diameter of this instrument are quite variable. The standard trocar is used to aspirate and inject body cavities. They may also be used for hypodermic injection treatments.

Question 33

Hypovalve trocar

Answer 33

Designed for hypodermic treatments and used for injection. NOT used for aspiration.

Question 34

Cavity fluid injector

Answer 34

Screws onto the cavity fluid bottles. When inserted, cavity fluid flows through the trocar into the body cavities.

Question 35

Hypodermic needles

Answer 35

Used to treat areas where arterial fluid has not been successfully distributed during the main arterial injection

Question 36

Trocar button applicator

Answer 36

Used to insert the trocar button

Question 37

Vein expander

Answer 37

Same as a Grooved Director? Expand the vein to guide a drain tube or device into a vein for drainage.

Question 38

Needle holder

Answer 38

Used to hold suturing needles in place

Question 39

Preservative embalming chemicals

Answer 39

Chemicals, such as Formaldehyde used to preserve the body and slow down the decomposition

Question 40

Accessory chemicals

Answer 40

Chemicals used in addition to vascular and cavity embalming fluids, such as hardening compounds, preservative powders, sealing agents, mold-preventative agents, and compress application agents

Question 41

Supplemental fluids

Answer 41

A fluid the embalmer injects prior to the preservative solution or adds to the preservative solution to enhance certain qualities of the preservative fluid.

Question 42

Sealing agents

Answer 42

Agents that provide a barrier or seal against any leakage of fluid or blood

Question 43

Cotton

Answer 43

Material used to assist in setting the facial features and to absorb any leakage from the bodily cavities

Question 44

Eye caps

Answer 44

Thin, domelike shell made of hardened cloth, metal, or plastic placed beneath the eyelids to restore natural curvature and to maintain the position of the closed eye.

Question 45

Trocar button

Answer 45

Plastic, threaded, screwlike device for sealing punctures and small round trocar opening

Question 46

Mouth Former

Answer 46

A device used in the mouth to shape the contour of the lips.

Question 47

Plastic goods, undergarments

Answer 47

These are used to protect clothing from conditions such as ulcerations, gangrene, or burnt tissue. They help control leakage from the tissue donor body, autopsied body, or the condition of edema.

Question 48

Ligature

Answer 48

Thread, cord, or wire used for tying vessels, tissues, or bones

Question 49

Calvarium clamps

Answer 49

A device used to fasten the calvarium to the cranium after a cranial autopsy