Joan: In the US embalming is the most prevalent process for preparing bodies for burial. An interesting book on Embalming is "How to Embalm Your Mother-in-Law: All You Ever Wanted to Know about What Happens between Your Last Breath and the First Spadeful" by Robert T. Hatch. The title is amusing but if more people read this book they might be a little less enthusiastic about embalming. Pam Researching: Rohner, Wiedmer, Ruesch, Engol, Schoeni and Krall