Embalming chemicals
Environmental effects
Formaldehyde works to stiffen the tissue of the cadaver, allowing the mortician to pose the body. This is the characteristic that also makes formaldehyde hazardous when encountered in the environment. The carbon atom in formaldehyde, CH2O, carries a slight positive charge due to the high electronegativity of the oxygen double bonded with the carbon. The electropositive carbon will react with a negatively charged molecule and other electron-rich species. As a result, the carbon in the formaldehyde molecule bonds with electron-rich nitrogen groups called amines found in plant and animal tissue. This leads to formaldehyde cross-linking, bonding proteins with other proteins and DNA, rendering them dysfunctional or no longer useful.
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