The embalming of John of Lancaster, first Duke of Bedford (1435 AD): A forensic analysis.

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, embalming the cadaver of the elite was common practice, being a highly technical treatment mixing vegetal and mineral substances. To assess the exact kind of embalming reserved for the dead body (with the practical necessities of desiccation and good odour), we performed a full biomedical analysis of the mummified remains of John Plantagenet of Lancaster, first Duke of Bedford, regent of France for his nephew, the English King Henri VI (died 1435 AD). Here, we show, among other aspects, that the body was embalmed using substances whose origins were in apothecary and botany: mercury, myrtle, mint, frankincense, lime and, possibly, cinnamon and copper.

The heart of Blessed Anne-Madeleine Remuzat: a biomedical approach of "miraculous" heart conservation.

We present here the results of our inter-disciplinary examination of the mummified heart of Blessed Anne-Madeleine Remuzat (1696-1730). This organ has been examined in the context of a canonization process. This analysis is related to important aspects of the early history of anatomy in Europe, that of "Holy autopsies", and to the relationship between anatomical investigations, Catholic theology, and religious/medical customs.

Maori heads (mokomokai): the usefulness of a complete forensic analysis procedure.

Based on an analysis of 19 mummified Maori heads (mokomokai) referred to our forensic laboratory for anthropological analysis prior to their official repatriation from France to New Zealand, and data from the anthropological and medical literature, we propose a complete forensic procedure for the analysis of such pieces. A list of 12 original morphological criteria was developed. Items included the sex, age at death, destruction of the skull base, the presence of argil deposits in the inner part of the skull, nostrils closed with exogenous material, sewing of eyelids and lips, pierced earlobes, ante-mortem and/or post-mortem tattoos, the presence of vegetal fibers within nasal cavities, and other pathological or anthropological anomalies.