- This article is about a repository for the temporary storage of human remains. For Mortuary, a film directed by Tobe Hooper, see Mortuary (film).
A morgue or mortuary is a building or room (as in a hospital) used for the storage of human remains.
Morgue is predominantly used in American English, whilst mortuary is more common in British English. (Mortuary is also often synonymous with funeral home in American English.) The euphemism Rose Cottage is widely used in British hospitals to enable discussion in front of patients, relatives and visitors without disturbing them. The term morgue is derived from French morguer, which means 'to look at solemnly, to defy'. The term was first used to describe the inner wicket of a prison, where prisoners were kept for some time, during which the jailers and turnkeys would spend time looking at the prisoners so that they would be able to recognize them. Relating to dead people, the name was first given to a building in Paris, which, in the middle of the fifth century, was part of the Châtelet and was used for the keeping and identification of unknown corpses.
Probably because it is in a sense where the "dead bodies" are kept, the term morgue is also used in the United States to refer to the room in which newspaper or magazine publishers keep their back issues and other historical references.
Morgues have been constructed in all large cities in the United States, including Boston (1851), New York City, (1866), Chicago, (1872), etc.
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Contents
- 1 Cold chamber temperature
- 2 Usage
- 3 See also
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Cold chamber temperature
There are two types of morgue cold chambers:
- Positive temperature 36/39°F (+2/+4°C): This is the most common type, used for keeping the bodies a few days or weeks. Decomposition of the corpse continues at a reduced rate.
- Negative temperature -5/-13°F (-15°C/-25°C): This is used by forensic institutes for the storage of bodies that have not yet been identified. The body is completely frozen, halting decomposition.
Usage
The mortuary cold chamber is used to keep the deceased as long as is necessary for identification purposes, post-mortem examination, or while awaiting burial.
In many countries, the family of the deceased must make the burial within 72 hours of death, but in some countries (in parts of Africa, for example) it is usual that the burial take place some weeks or some months after the death. This is why some corpses are kept as long as one or two years at a hospital or in a funeral home. When the family has enough money to organize the ceremony, they take the corpse from the cold chamber for burial.
In some funeral homes, the morgue is in the same room, or directly adjacent to, the specially designed ovens, known as retorts, that are used in funerary cremation. Some religions dictate that, should a body be cremated, the family must witness its incineration. To honor these religious rights, many funeral homes install a viewing window, which allows the family to watch as the body is inserted into the retort. In this way, the family can honor their customs without entering the morgue.
In many countries, the body of the deceased is embalmed, which makes refrigeration unnecessary.
Waiting Mortuary
A Waiting Mortuary is a mortuary building designed specifically for the purpose of confirming that deceased persons are truly deceased. Prior to the advent of modern methods of verifying death, people feared that they would be buried alive. To alleviate such fears, the recently deceased were housed for a time in waiting mortuaries, where attendants would watch for signs of life. The corpses would be allowed to decompose partially prior to burial. Waiting mortuaries were most popular in 19th century Germany, and were often large ornate halls. It is believed that there is not a single case of a person being saved from accidental burial in this way.
See also
