A mortuary worker has explained why the bodies of deceased loved ones often appear to show bruising — even when there was none before death.
In a TikTok video, the professional broke down the two most common reasons for these postmortem changes, responding to questions from curious followers and concerned families.
“I know I've answered this one a fair few times,” she said, “but for some of the new followers that are inboxing and putting comments about this, I'm just going to answer it again.”
Why dead bodies appear to develop bruises
According to the mortuary worker, “95% of the time it is livor mortis,” commonly known as blood pooling.
“Blood pooling is very heavy along the ears, the face… if they've been laying on their back, it will be quite heavy on their back. Also, fingertips can go quite purple black as well, and it will look like bruising.”
Many grieving relatives are often shocked by the change. “So many families will say, ‘They didn't have all that bruising. Like what's going on?’” she added. “We do have to explain it is a natural part of the decomposition and it is called blood pooling, which is livor mortis, and it's completely normal.”
“It’s distressing to see, of course. I don't think anybody would say otherwise, but it is a normal process.”
Another potential cause of bruising on dead bodies
The second possible cause is trauma — including from medical interventions. “If your loved one has passed away through trauma — and that could be cannulas, that can be an accident, it can be self-inflicted — then an embalm will not always get rid of that.”
“Most of the time it will,” she explained, “but to be fair, there are occasions where it just won't do anything, especially if it's quite heavy. But there are things that we can do to try to cover that.”
Ultimately, the mortuary worker reassured viewers: “It’s not bruising. It is a normal part of the decomposition process upon death.”