How have mortuary rituals changed in America over the past 100 years: September 2013

Modern procedures of embalming involve the blood draining from one of the veins and replaced by a fluid injected into one of the main arteries. This fluid is usually based on Formalin which is a solution of formaldehyde in water. Fluids are removed with a long hollow needle called a trocar and then replaced with a preservative. This fluid is based on Formalin mixed with emulsifiers, alcohols, and other substances like embalming fluid in order to keep the body temporarily from turning brown and shriveling.
The purpose of embalming is to give the body a 'lifelike' appearance in order to show the body at a 'visitation'.
In the United States, embalming is a standard practice but it is not standard in other parts of the world such as Europe. Embalming is rarely practiced in Europe. In several countries permits are required for embalming and sometimes it is performed by medical practitioners.
source:Encyclopedia Britannica (n.d.). embalming :: Development of modern embalming. -- Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 30, 2013, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/185498/embalming/2095/Development-of-modern-embalming#toc2096

After the Civil War and up to about the year of 1930, the process of embalming was done in the home of the deceased by the undertaker. The undertaker and his assistant brought a portable wooden table, which was known as a cooling board, and the necessary instruments, such as a hose, gravity bottle, and formaldehyde. After the embalming, the body was dressed, placed in a coffin, and taken to the front parlor of the home for the visitation. The undertaker eventually provided transportation to the gravesite after the vistitation

This is an image of a 'cooling table'
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites (n.d.). Funeral Homes | Life & Death. Retrieved September 30, 2013, from http://www.stlgs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=242&Itemid=978.

Video Source: National Geographic (2012, February 16). Welcome to Embalming 101 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cTVn30XSeE

c.1920s. Old Undertakers Wares, A Set of Three Cast Aluminum, Rubber and Glass Embalming Vessels

Modern 50 (n.d.). Vintage Morticians Embalming Jars : 20th Century Vintage Furnishings & Design. Retrieved September 30, 2013, from http://www.modern50.com/objectsart/vintage-morticians-embalming-jars/

Embalming usually took place in a bedroom of the home in the early 20th century