PODCAST · science
Mortuary Mnemonics
by Damon de la Cruz
A place to help Funeral Service Education Students study. We share mortuary science mnemonics that will help with classes, NEB and state exams. We also help licensed practitioner review concepts from the course they took while in school. This is a Tuesday Evening Publications production.
Episodes
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aDsorb or aBsorb
One letter. Two different ways to hold moisture! ADsorb = ADheres to the surface. Think of the D in aDsorb and a Desiccant like silica gel. ABsorb = Brings it in. Think of a sponge taking water into its material. Stick around or come inside? That’s your latest Mortuary Mnemonics memory cue! 🎙️...
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Spine O'Clock
🕖 Coffee at 7. 🕛 Tea at 12. 🕔 Liquor at 5. Remember your vertebrae with Spine O’Clock: 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar. The time gives you the number; the drink gives you the letter. ☕🫖🥃
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Algor Mortis: An Inconvenient Truth
Remember algor mortis by connecting it to Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth. This quick mnemonic helps you recall how the body acclimates to the ambient temperature after death.
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Neurons: In or Out?
Dendrites draw information in, while axons carry nerve impulses away from the cell body. Use the simple mnemonic “Dendrites Draw In; Axons Away” to remember the direction of neuronal communication for your anatomy exams and National Board preparation.
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Vector Face-Off : Biological versus Mechanical
Differentiate between Biological Vectors and Mechanical Vectors with ease.
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HONC
Podcast Title: HONC – The Shortcut to Bonding Patterns In embalming chemistry, we only need to know severalelements and how they interact with each other. For example, how they will bond with one another. If you’ve ever looked at a chemical structureand thought, how many bonds should this atom...
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The Gout
When you think gout, think TOE, because that’s where it loves to start. The big toe joint, or first metatarsophalangeal joint, is the classic site for that sharp, fiery pain that wakes people at night. Now add TOPHI spelled T-O-P-H-I those are the chalky white deposits that form when uric acid...
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Aortic A-B-C-s
“ABCs of the Aortic Arch.” A is for Aortic Arch – the main curve of theaorta. From there, the branches go in this order: B – Brachiocephalic artery C – Left Common carotid artery S – Left Subclavian artery Think: A – B – C – S. Quick tip: the brachiocephalic only comes off the rightside—so it…
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F.E.R.M.
Rigor mortis, the stiffening of muscles after death due to fluctuation in ATP levels. Rigor mortis can make it challenging to position a body for preparation. But don’t worry—our mnemonic, F.E.R.M., makes the process straightforward and easy to remember. Let’s break it down: F is for Flex. Start…
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Phocomelia
Phocomelia s a congenital condition that involves malformations of human arms and legs that is most often described as having flipper-like appendages. However, it can manifest in other regions of the body resulting in shortened neck, abnormalities in the urethra, and hydrocephalus. A cause of...
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HemoPTysis
Hemoptysis Here’s a mnemonic that I overheard in class one day. It’s for the word Hemoptysis. Hemoptysis is the coughing up or spitting of blood from one’s lungs. It can be a sign of a serious medical condition. It can be caused by infections such as tuberculosis, cancer, and problems in blood...
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Soupination
Here’s a quick mnemonic. It’s one of those anatomical directional terms. These are important for communicating with other professionals as they help to remove ambiguity. Today’s term is supination, the rotation of the forearm and hand so that the palm faces forward or upward. The mnemonic is...
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Proenzymes
As you are most certainly aware, one of the goals of embalming is temporary preservation. This accomplished is in part by stabilizing proteins. Without getting into the chemical pathways this stabilization can be achieved through the neutralization of enzymatic proteins that will digest other...
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Tendon or Ligament
Tendons and ligaments are confusing. Do tendons connect bone to muscle? Muscle to muscle? Do ligaments connect bone to muscle? Okay so here is where I lean into structures that I am confident about. Those structures that I’ve been familiar with for years, even before my first anatomy class. A...
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Ate Essential Amino Acids
Let’s take a moment to talk about amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Embalming can, in part, be defined as the use of chemicals to stabilize proteins. That being said, the reaction between embalming chemicals and proteins really occurs at the amino acids level. There…
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Hypertrophy
Pathology has a lot of vocabulary that sounds very similar. For example, hypertrophy, hyperplasia and aplasia. These similar sounding words can get confusing. Knowing the pre-fix, suffix, and root words can be helpful in times like these. But sometimes there is a mnemonic in there that can help...
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Escutcheon
Today’s mnemonic covers a casket part. It’s helpful if you are familiar with some romance languages. So, there are a lot of casket parts that you get to be familiar with, the gimp, the ogee and others. Some are easy to remember, others are not. Additionally, many of them have synonyms. This makes...
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Richard Burr
Dr. Richard Burr was a civil war embalmer. You’re probably familiar with the photograph of him at his tent embalming with no PPE. We credit him with being the impetus of the establishment of rules for embalmers and undertakers. This is because he was allegedly burning down the embalming tents of...
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Phrenic fun time
The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscular partition between the thorax and the abdomen in mammals. It has a functional role in breathing. Like all muscles the diaphragm requires a supply of oxygenated blood. The arteries that supply the diaphragm with oxygen are the phrenic arteries. There are...
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Penia
Erythrocytopenia, leukocytopenia, leukopenia, osteopenia these are some of the terms you will come across in your Funeral Service Pathology class. I think it’s a good idea to study the prefixes and suffixes of medical terms as they tend to repeat themselves. Here we see penia as in cytopenia,...
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Spina Bifida
One of the conditions that you need to know for your career and the NBE is Spina Bifida. Spina Bifida is a condition that affects the spine, it’s typically observed in newborns. Spina bifida is an umbrella term that covers several different variations. You will need to memorize three of these and...
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Medial Malleolus
Hey there Funeral Service People, here’s a quick mnemonic for your vascular guides. As you know the vascular guides are important for locating and identifying the arteries that can be accessed for the purpose of embalming. The guides are built off known anatomical structures. To successfully use...
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T-Oxalates
Today’s mnemonic covers anticoagulants. Its widely understood that aldehydes function best with modifying agents. Modifying agents are chemicals added to embalming solution that help decrease molecular cohesion, add moisture to tissue, add color to tissue and help decrease clots that can form in...
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Cocci and Couscous
If you’re a Funeral Service Education student, then you need be familiar with Microbiology. Microbiology is one of those subjects that require a lot of memorization. Bacteria shapes are typically discussed at the beginning of the course. This tip is for the simplest shaped bacteria, cocci. You…
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Algor Mortis
Postmortem chemical and physical changes can be so difficult to remember. Today’s mnemonic incorporates a Al Gore known for his role in the elucidation of Climate change through speeches and the popular movie released in 2006 An Inconvenient Truth. The postmortem physical change we need to know…
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Genicular Arteries
A two for one! Today we bridge anatomy and ceremonies. From your ceremonies class you probably learned the term genuflect. This refers to lowering of the body by bending a knee to the ground. This it often seen in ceremonies as a sign of worship. In anatomy we refer to the six arteries that in…
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The Postmortem pH shift
After death the body goes through many chemical and physical changes. One of these is termed the postmortem pH shift. In the early postmortem phase the body becomes acidic. This is because of continued metabolism and the lack of elimination of waste. As time progresses the body becomes more...
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Canopic Jar Conundrum
Here’s a mnemonic for your history class. Ancient Egyptian embalming/mummification included canopic jars. These are containers that were used to store viscera that had been dried in natron that was not returned to the body. There were four canopic jars and describes the tops of the jars as...
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Hepatitis Confusion
The various strains are either Oral fecal or Blood borne but which is which? Is A blood borne? Is C blood borne? Here’s a simple mnemonic that will help you differentiate these forever. A and E are vowels, Oral/fecal begins with O, which is also a vowel. (Pro-tip - the vowels are bowels) B, C…
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DJ Ilium
An easy way to remember the three parts of the small intestines in the anatomical order they are found. Duodenum, Jejunum, Ilium. If you take the first letters of Duodenum and Jejunum you get DJ, then add Ilium for D.J. Ilium!
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A place to help Funeral Service Education Students study. We share mortuary science mnemonics that will help with classes, NEB and state exams. We also help licensed practitioner review concepts from the course they took while in school. This is a Tuesday Evening Publications production.
HOSTED BY
Damon de la Cruz
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mortuary Mnemonics have?
Mortuary Mnemonics currently has 30 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mortuary Mnemonics about?
A place to help Funeral Service Education Students study. We share mortuary science mnemonics that will help with classes, NEB and state exams. We also help licensed practitioner review concepts from the course they took while in school. This is a Tuesday Evening Publications production.
How often does Mortuary Mnemonics release new episodes?
Mortuary Mnemonics has 30 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Mortuary Mnemonics on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Mortuary Mnemonics?
Mortuary Mnemonics is created and hosted by Damon de la Cruz.
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