Vital info

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Glossary of terms

A.

Adjournment

An inquest can be opened and adjourned primarily to establish the identity of the deceased, to receive medical evidence and issue certificates for disposal of the body if allowable by the Coroner

Administrator

A person authorized to deal with the affairs of a person dying intestate by taking out Letters of Administration

B.

Bequeathal

The donation of a body for Anatomical Examination

Bier

A moveable or fixed stand on which a coffin is placed

C.

Casket

A rectangular container for the body, an alternative to a shaped coffin. A container for cremated remains.

Catafalque

A stand with enclosed sides, usually in a church or crematorium, on which the coffin rests during a funeral service.

Cenotaph

A monument honoring a dead person whose body is elsewhere

Columbarium

The building at the crematorium providing facilities for the deposit of caskets containing cremated remains, being placed in niches, or recesses built into walls.

Committal

The part of the funeral service when the remains are committed to the elements

Common Grave

A grave in a cemetery over which no exclusive right of burial is granted and no memorial is erected.

Coroner

A person in England and Wales who has been appointed by the Crown whose duties include the investigation of all sudden and unexpected deaths, to give permission to remove bodies out of England and Wales and to act for the Crown in respect of Treasure Trove.

Coroner's Jurisdiction

The area assigned to a particular Coroner in which he acts

Coroner's Officer

An official appointed to assist the Coroner by reporting the death and associated circumstances to him.

Cortege

The funeral procession of vehicles and people involved in a funeral

Cremated Remains

The remains of a human body following cremation.

Cremation

The disposing of a human body by means of burning and reducing it to ashes

Crematorium

An establishment where only human remains are cremated. Such an institution must be registered and authorized by the Secretary of State

Cremator

The name given to the furnace in which human remains are cremated

Cremulator

A machine at a crematorium that contains either steel or concrete balls which reduces the calcified remains that are left after a cremation into fine ash

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D.

Death Certificate

Technically there is no such form as the Death Certificate. However "The medical Certificate of the Cause of Death" and a "Certified Copy of the Entry in the Register of Deaths" are often mistakenly quoted as the Death Certificate

Disbursements

Items paid for by the Funeral Director on behalf of the family to third parties such as clergy and catering. These will be itemized on the funeral account

E.

Embalming

See Preservative Treatment

Exhumation

The removal of human remains from the place where they are interred

F.

Garden of Remembrance

An area set aside in the grounds of a crematorium, cemetery or churchyard for the disposal of cremated remains

H.

Hearse

A specially designed vehicle for the conveyance of the coffin

I.

Informant

The person responsible for attending at the Registrar's Office to inform the registrar of a death

Inquest

An official inquiry by a Coroner into the exact cause of a death

Interment Burial

Of a deceased person Intestacy The legal term for the situation where no will has been left by the deceased

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M.

Medical Referee

The medically qualified official of a crematorium who scrutinises all cremation forms and authorizes cremation

Mortuary

A place where dead bodies are kept prior to being moved by the funeral director

N.

Niche

A space in a columbarium or other repository for the retention of cremated remains

P.

Pall

An ornamental drape laid over a coffin

Pallbearer

Strictly one of the mourners at a funeral who used to hold up the corners of the pall, but now often applied to one who assists in the carrying of a coffin

Pathologist

A specialist in that part of medicine which deals with the nature of diseases, their causes and symptoms and who carries out post mortem examination to find out the cause of death

Post Mortem

An examination of a body after death to find out the cause of death

Preservative Treatment

A treatment of a dead body consisting fundamentally of arterial injection of a preservative fluid, venous drainage and treatment of the thoracic and abdominal cavities and their contents, in order to preserve the body until the time of committal, to limit the danger of infection and to enable the deceased to be presented as if they are at rest.

Probate

The process by which a will is legally proven.

R.

Registrar

The short title of The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages who is responsible for the registration of births, deaths and marriages in a particular registration sub district

Repatriation

Term used when a deceased person is transported back to their home country

Requiescat in Pace

Latin for "may he/she rest in peace" (R.I.P.)

Rigor Mortis

Latin for "the stiffness of death". The name given to the stiffening of the body after death.