Your body can self-digest after death!
After death, the next step is decomposition. However, your body will start feeding on itself in order to prevent that from happening as much as possible. The process is called autolysis, and we still do not have very much information about it up to this day.
As soon as the human heart stops beating, it deprives your cells of oxygen and increases their acidity and many other chemical reactions will start accumulating inside them. cell membranes will get digested by enzymes.
This process usually starts in the liver, because it is rich in enzymes, and in the brain which has high water content. But eventually, all the other organs will start breaking down. Since we have huge numbers of bacteria in our bodies, especially in our gut, it will start digesting the intestines and the tissue around them, as soon as the immune system stops working.
The bacteria use the chemical cocktail that leaks from the damaged cells as food in order to prevent decomposition. Gross, right?
Read also: 50 Famous Firsts from Science History.
