Science behind Body
Decay

Most deceased bodies at cemeteries are enclosed in coffins, which are often built of metal or concrete to prevent them from collapsing and sinking into the earth. These coffins were fashioned of wood and bricks for millennia prior since they were simple to get and employ.

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The action of the decomposers of the bodies was easier in the past with coffins made of natural materials like wood and bricks than it is now since they cannot access the body when it is confined in a metal container. The organisms can penetrate the wood and enter the body, where they start disassembling the cells and consuming the necessary nutrients. When an organism dies, its cells also perish and eventually lose the ability to defend themselves, as a result of which the body begins to degrade. Bacterial activity and the body's own enzymes cause it to degrade. The muscles losing their rigidity is one illustration of this process.

 

Grave wax, or adipocere, is a crumbly, white wax that accumulates in the cheeks, breasts, and other parts of the body that have high levels of fat. It is the outcome of a chemical reaction in which lipids are broken down into fatty acids and soaps by bacterial enzymes when they are mixed with water and hydrogen. Adipocere can protect a corpse from microbes. Adipocere has been noted to form within a month of death in circumstances when bodies have been unearthed after 100 years. If a body is open to insects, adipocere is unlikely to develop.