Morgue

Morgue

Morgue

A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification or removal for autopsy or respectful burial, cremation or other method. In modern times, corpses have customarily been refrigerated to delay decomposition.

Etymology and descriptions

The term morgue comes from the French morgue, which means 'to look at solemnly, to defy'. First used to describe the inner wicket of a prison, where new prisoners were kept so that jailers and turnkeys could recognize them in the future, it took on its modern meaning in fifteenth-century Paris, being used to describe part of the Châtelet used for the storage and identification of unknown corpses.

Morgue, in the medical profession, is a room or building designed to hold bodies of the deceased for identification, post-mortem examination, or temporary storage before burial or cremation. The most common type of morgue is found in hospitals or medical schools, where it is used for teaching and research purposes.

Design and facilities

Morgues are generally cool and sterile environments, designed to slow the decomposition of bodies and prevent the spread of disease. They typically contain a number of refrigerated compartments or cadaver tables for storing bodies, as well as equipment for performing autopsies and other post-mortem examinations.

In popular culture

Morgues have been depicted in various ways in popular culture. They are often shown as eerie, quiet places filled with rows of bodies in body bags or on metal tables. In crime dramas and detective shows, morgues are frequently used as settings for the examination of murder victims and the gathering of forensic evidence.

See also

• Autopsy
• Cremation
• Funeral home
• Hospital
• Medical school

References

Morgue Resources
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