The temperature of the normal living body is 98° to 99° F. In illness, the temperature may be increased several degrees. After death, the body generally cools to the same point as the surrounding air; this is said to take place in from fifteen to twenty hours. Taylor, from the examination of one hundred bodies, states that the average heat of the skin of the abdomen, at a period of two to three hours after death, is 77°; at four to six hours, 74°; at six to eight hours, 70°; at twelve hours, 69°. The internal viscera retain their heat longer than the surface of the body. It is said, that, after sudden death from accidents, apoplexy, acute disease and asphyxia, the body retains its heat for an unusually long period. It is both asserted and denied, that after death from hemorrhage the body cools rapidly; the body of an adult cools more slowly than that of a child or an old person; that of a fat person more slowly than that of a lean one. In some cases there is an exceptional retention and even an increase of heat in the dead body. Dr. John Davy reports, that in case of death from rheumatism, after the viscera had been exposed for several minutes, the temperature of the left ventricle of the heart was 113°, and that of the liver 112°. In a second case, six hours after death, the temperature of the heart was 108°. It is stated that after death from yellow fever and cholera, the temperature increases for several hours after death. There are also recorded a number of instances in which the body retained its heat for several days, without known cause. It will be seen from what has been said, that if we are called upon to pronounce upon the length of time that has elapsed since death, in a given case, this is only to be done approximately, and it is probably necessary to take into consideration the cause and manner of death, the condition of the individual, the state of the atmosphere, the manner in which the body has been kept after death; and even after making these allowances, we can only say that a person has probably been dead for such and such a time. This chapter may prove tedious to some, but it is, however, an undeniable fact, that the preceding information (compiled from the Morbid Anatomy of F. Delafield, M. D.), is of the utmost importance to the professional undertaker. The external examination of the body, before handling, is a matter not to be neglected. Should any syphilitic sores or foul ulcers be present, the utmost caution must be used in handling the body, as the pus, which is a most virulent poison, might find its way into the system through some abrasion of the skin. The effects of this poison are such, that, should it not prove fatal, it will leave in the system traces that can never be completely eradicated. This chapter also contains information of such character as will be found needful to fully understand the subsequent chapters. PRESERVATION OF BODIES.