Why do bones disintegrate

That's right, you can mummify naturally. No wrappings, chemicals, or intimidating instruments required. Because throughout this entire decomposition process, water is evaporating through the thin skin on your ears, nose, and eyelids, causing them to dry out and turn black, aka mummify.

By 50 years in, your tissues will have liquefied and disappeared, leaving behind mummified skin and tendons. Eventually these too will disintegrate, and after 80 years in that coffin, your bones will crack as the soft collagen inside them deteriorates, leaving nothing but the brittle mineral frame behind.

But even that shell won't last forever. A century in, the last of your bones will have collapsed into dust. And only the most durable part of your body, your teeth, will remain.

Teeth, grave wax, and some nylon threads. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. The environment of southern Arizona with mild winters and hot, dry summers produces great variability in decay rates of human remains. Summer temperatures, which range well over 38 degrees C degrees F , induce rapid bloating as a result of the accumulation of decompositional gases.

However, in certain circumstances, the aridity can lead to extensive mummification, allowing preservation of remains for hundreds of years. Bone Diagenesis decay What happens to bone when it decays and what factors influence this? Why do different bones within the skeleton decay at varying rates. Share this post. The Structure and Chemistry of Bone. Want to keep learning? This content is taken from Durham University online course,. This content is taken from Durham University online course.

See other articles from this course. This article is from the online course:. People with eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia , are also at higher risk for osteoporosis. Talk to your health care provider about your risk for bone loss and osteoporosis. Find out how to get the right amount of calcium and vitamin D, what exercise or lifestyle changes are right for you, and what medicines you may need to take. Osteoporosis: basic and clinical aspects.

Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap J Clin Endocrinol Metab. PMID: pubmed. Weber TJ. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. Editorial team. What causes bone loss? Your Changing Bones. Your body needs the minerals calcium and phosphate to make and keep healthy bones. During your life, your body continues to both reabsorb old bone and create new bone.

Your entire skeleton is replaced about every 10 years, though this process slows as you get older.