The place of final registration of citizens (or morgue) for each person is associated with disfigured bodies and the pungent odor of naphthalene and chlorine. Such a spectacle can rightly be called one of the most terrifying and unpleasant. Is it possible to meet a person who wants to be in the morgue of his own free will? Probably not. However, someone should work in such an institution. This means that in the world there are brave daredevils who have dedicated their lives to "communication" with soulless bodies.
In the article we will get acquainted with the history of the morgue and its employees, and also learn about what is happening outside the walls of a gloomy institution called "the place of the final registration of citizens."
Paris morgue. Paris Morgue
Until the 19th century, an extraordinary fun was popular among the inhabitants of Paris: looking at corpses. Unprecedented entertainment was made possible thanks to a building called morgue, where authorities displayed lifeless bodies attached to marble slabs.
The original purpose of the French morgue was to identify the corpses by the locals, because most of the "exhibits" are suicides, who were often found in the Seine. But lovers of bread and circuses did not react to such an innovation as the authorities would like: the Parisians looked at the corpses as a kind of forbidden work of art.
In 1706, Russia partly took advantage of the French experience, however, such institutions were not called the place of final registration of citizens at all, but anatomical theaters, which only beginners and practicing doctors could get into. The first morgues in the modern sense appeared about a hundred years ago.
Dictionary Interpretation
Many mistakenly believe that the morgue is the abbreviation of "place of final registration of citizens." This assumption is completely false. Morgue is a neologism from the French language, and the place of final registration of citizens is a popular attempt to decipher the word. To verify this, let us turn to the modern explanatory dictionary for help. It says that the morgue is not a "place" at all, but a special institution for the storage, identification and autopsy of corpses.
Steel Nerves Specialists
Why do young medical students choose to work in a morgue? After all, the daily contemplation of corpses mixed with an unpleasant odor can drive even the most seasoned and mentally stable person crazy. Both beginners and experienced morgue employees answer this question in different ways. Some are attracted by high wages, while others relate to the human corpse as ordinary biological material, therefore they relate to such work calmly and calmly.
The following is a list of specialists who work with corpses every day and know firsthand what a morgue is:
- Pathologist. Engaged in autopsy and analysis of biological material, clarifies the cause of death.
- Medical examiner. Establishes the cause of death, which is criminal in nature.
- The orderly. Cleans the room, "cares" for the corpses.
- Medical Recorder. Keeps records of the receipt of corpses.
- Make-up artist. Using makeup gives the deceased's face a neat and “fresh” look.
What is a morgue from the inside, or How do doctors work?
As soon as the corpse enters the morgue, he is sent to a personal freezer, and when it comes to the autopsy, to the sectional table with an adjacent sink. First of all, the pathologist studies the history of the deceased's disease and examines the skin.
Then the doctor proceeds to examine the body from the inside: it opens the stomach and breaks the chest with special tools. The pathologist takes out internal organs for a thorough examination and analysis. After the procedure, the doctor puts the organs back into the abdominal cavity.
If the cause of death is not found, then the pathologist opens the skull of the deceased. The scalp is removed in a special way and the cranial bone is sawn. The doctor takes out not only the brain, but also the eye sockets. Each organ undergoes a detailed examination and examination.
If the doctor determined the cause of death and / or took the necessary biological material for analysis, the abdomen of the deceased is sutured, and the skull is darned. Orderlies wash and embalm the body.
Posthumous Makeup
The pathologist does not leave an untouched place on the body of the deceased, therefore, such consequences must be carefully masked. Make-up artists and orderlies bring the finishing touches: the former give a natural shade to the face and make a hairstyle, and the latter dress the deceased in new clothes and put them in a coffin.
Horrific facts
Despite the hardened nature of doctors and orderlies, there are moments in the morgue that will make even the most experienced specialist shudder.
For example, orderlies take a long time to get used to the process of suturing the body. When the needle passes through the skin with a thin layer of fat, a characteristic creak is heard, similar to the sound from a horror movie.
Also, in medical practice, the case is widespread when the deceased in the literal sense of the word begins to "breathe": at one point, excess air sharply leaves the corpse. Experienced doctors are accustomed to such a sight, but beginners have a hard time.
About the feelings of specialists
Surely everyone is interested to know what emotions and feelings the workers of the morgue experience. Surprisingly, most of them are cheerful people with inner harmony. The life philosophy of pathologists is not based on the concept of "we will all be there," but intertwined with the thought "how great it is to live."