Your body is made up of over 200 bones, several trillion bacteria, and up to 37 trillion cells. While you may think death is the end, it is not; your body still has a long way to go. What happens to the body after we die?
Minutes After Death
When the heart stops beating, blood circulation halts, preventing oxygen from reaching organs and tissues. Without blood, the organs and tissues that require the most oxygen die first, with the brain being the first to go. Subsequently, fluids begin to leak out; since the body is composed of 70% water, without oxygen, cells die and self-destruct, spilling all fluids into the coffin.
Hours After Death
About 10 hours after death, a more complex process begins in the intestines. The immune system nearly collapses, and without food, the digestive system can no longer contain the trillions of starving bacteria. They escape and consume anything they encounter. First, they travel from the lower intestines through the tissues, veins, and arteries. Within hours, they reach and consume your liver and gallbladder, causing bile to leak out and turning your body a greenish hue.
From about two to four days after death, bacteria are everywhere, producing toxic gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, causing your body to swell and emit foul odors.
Months After Death
After three to four months, the yellow-green skin turns brownish-black due to the degradation of blood vessels, where iron leaks out and oxidizes into a dark brown color. The molecular structures that bind the cells break down, causing the tissues to collapse into a gooey mixture. Over a year later, your cotton clothing disintegrates due to the acidic body fluids and toxins breaking them down.
Years After Death
After a decade in a moist, low-oxygen environment, a chemical reaction occurs that turns the fat in your thighs and buttocks into a soap-like substance known as adipocere. Water evaporates through the thin skin on your ears, nose, and eyelids, causing them to dry out and turn black, making your body resemble a mummy; a natural embalming process that requires no chemicals.
After 50 years, your tissues will liquefy and disappear, leaving only skin and tendons, which will eventually disintegrate as well. After 80 years in that coffin, your bones will crack as the soft collagen inside them deteriorates, leaving only a brittle mineral framework.
A century later, your bones will turn to dust. Only your teeth—the most durable part of your body—and adipocere will remain.
