[Chode]

so embalmers are opening up the vessels, is this common practice?

[Macho MAGA Man]

It would seem so.

[Rurudyne]

They drain out the blood (embalming fluid replaces blood) and in the process much gunk that may be in the blood. It ends up in their trays etc.

[conserv8]

stuff is plugging equipment

[Hodar]

so embalmers are opening up the vessels, is this common practice?

I am not trying to be mean or rude, just answering a question bluntly. To embalm, the Mortician must drain the blood and replace it with a formaldehyde to embalm the body. This is routine. They normally use a large artery to make this transfer. If the artery is “plugged”, then this is what they have to do

YouTube has many channels by Mortician’s and this was NOT common earlier. This is done to slow the body from decomposition for the funeral. My wife wanted to work in this industry; so I picked up a bit. This is not my career. But you asked a pertinent question. I hope this answers your question adequately

[RetiredTexasVet]

They only do when the arteries are blocked and they inject embalming fluid. They open up an artery to clear the blockage.

[one guy in new jersey]

They need to run embalming fluid into the deceased’s bloodstream. The clots, it turns out, have been obstructing this process.

[Pollard]

Arterial embalming, which involves the injection of embalming chemicals into the blood vessels, usually via the right common carotid artery. Blood and interstitial fluids are displaced by this injection and, along with excess arterial solution, are expelled from the right jugular vein and collectively referred to as drainage. The embalming solution is injected with a centrifugal pump, and the embalmer massages the body to break up circulatory clots so as to ensure the proper distribution of the embalming fluid. This process of raising vessels with injection and drainage from a solitary location is known as a single-point injection. In cases of poor circulation of the arterial solution, additional injection points (commonly the axillary, brachial, or femoral arteries, with the ulnar, radial, and tibial vessels if necessary) are used. The corresponding veins are commonly also raised and utilized for drainage. Cases where more than one vessel is raised are referred to as multiple-point injection, with a reference to the number of vessels raised (i.e. a six-point injection or six-pointer). As a general rule, the more points needing to be raised, the greater the difficulty of the case. In some cases draining from a different site from injection (i.e. injecting arterial fluid into the right common carotid artery and draining from the right femoral vein) is referred to as a split (or sometimes cut) injection. In certain cases the embalmer may deem it necessary to perform a restricted cervical injection, which involves injecting the head of the deceased separately from the rest of body. This is done in cases where distention (swelling) has a greater chance of occurring. In many cases, an embalmer may select to perform what is known as a pre-injection. A pre-injection is a solution of chemicals that do not contain any preservative chemicals, but rather chemicals that encourage vasodilation, help disperse blood clots, and act as chelating agents. The focus of this "pre-injection" is to allow for a more complete drainage and better distribution of the arterial embalming solution.

Quite a bit of the process is dealing with clots. They do whatever they have to do to ensure all blood is replaced with embalming fluid.