We all bite the dust and become one with the dust. Behind this simplification comes a remarkable process before our bodies turn to ashes. For someone, it might be gruesome, terrifying, traumatizing, while for others it might be as miraculous as the stages of conception and birth, only in a way that’s reversed—like a justification to the balance of nature. And so, we’re here to present both a discovery and knowledge about the loss of life and the process beyond.

When Death Finally Comes

Our heart stops beating while the lungs stop breathing, and each cell no longer receives oxygen and nutrients from blood. When this happens, the process called livor mortis takes place. It’s the settling of the blood in the lower or dependent part of the body like the back or the legs, depending on the position at death. This is due to the blood draining from the blood vessels starting at the top and accumulating in the lower part.

But most cells aren’t still dead except for the brain cells which die in the first few minutes of death. Cells of the muscle, skin, and bone can live for hours and several days especially the latter two. This is because these cells can use a different type of respiration after the heart and lungs stop working. This is called anaerobic respiration or respiration without oxygen, which can cause lactic acid build up, the reason for the muscles to stiffen. It’s very much the same when we run a long distance and our heart and lungs can’t keep up with our leg muscles. But the different lies on the fact that death can’t clear out this lactic acid because of lack of blood flow, hence causing the whole body to stiffen—or what we know medically as rigor mortis.

Rigor mortis starts at about three hours after death and lasts approximately in 36 hours. When all cells die, it can’t support to fight bacteria and the enzyme of these bacteria plus the cells own enzyme what cause the body to decompose causing the muscles to lose their stiffness.

The process that takes place after death depends on the embalming procedure that we usually do now to somebody that died. Embalming affects the length of time before the body finally cedes to the different stages of decomposition. On the next part of the discussion, we will tackle the more detailed story of how our bodies decompose, which is divided into five stages: Initial Decay, Putrefaction, Black Putrefaction, Butyric Putrefaction, and Dry Decay.

Every living thing faces its own demise, end, and death. But for human beings, our body works wonders as to keep us alive up to the best of what our bodies can—in sickness, in old age, and tragedy. These wonders may not be fully expressed in few paragraphs nor in words, which everyone can easily understand, but the important thing about it is we’re a creation far greater, more astounding, and more breathtaking than any of man’s invention.

Skin

Its the foremost line of our body’s defense by serving as an effective barrier to lots of stress factors like microorganisms, dirt, and heat. With an acidic pH of less than 5, it makes an unfavourable environment for most bacteria. Hair, sebum, and sweat which are mainly found on the skin surface contain enzymes that destroy the integrity of pathogens. Through pores, the skin eliminates body heat, absorbs nutrients, and release metabolic by-products and toxins through sweat. And by a copious amount of blood supply through minute capillaries, clotting mechanisms makes an important role to prevent foreign matters gaining entry into the body through the wound.

Saliva

A significant amount of saliva aids ingested matters into a highly acidic environment of the stomach, which again makes a very terrible place for microorganisms to live in. Human saliva contains a significant amount of enzymes that can digest foods into their basic components which aid further digestive processes.

Respiratory Tract

The respiratory tract is a highly protected system in order to protect the entire body in return. This role starts from the nose as the nasal hair serve to trap large particles. On the other hand, hair-like projections called cilia takes care of the small particles and microbes by trapping and sending them to the throat, thereby allowing elimination through expulsion or swallowing, which involves a series of enzyme-based or immune system interactions.

Blood

The blood plays a very significant and dynamic role in keeping humans alive. One may not survive without an adequate amount of blood because it transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones, inflammatory factors, drugs, and a lot more. Through one of its component the white blood cells, it’s able to detect microorganisms and send signals to the other lines of body’s self defense, while the platelets and clotting factors maintain a safe and exclusive passageway for the circulatory system. They repair leaks and work more incredibly than Band-Aids.

These body components may not suffice to reveal everything as our body has a lot to tell, from the smallest part of the brain to the outermost tip of the toe. It doesn’t just contain a marvel of functioning cells and organs, which make a mass of muscles and bones a human being. The insurmountable amount of wonders it boast what makes a human body a miracle in a truest, tangible form.