The last offices are the procedures performed, usually by a nurse in the developed world, to a dead person shortly after death

Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....

 has been confirmed. They can vary from hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

 to hospital, and culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

 to culture.

Name

The word "offices" is related to the original Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, in which officium means "service, duty, business". Hence these are the "last duties" carried out on the body.

Procedure

Often the body of the deceased is left for up to an hour

Hour

The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds...

 as a mark of respect. The procedure then typically includes the following steps, though they can vary according to an institution's preferred practices:

• Removal of jewellery
  Jewellery
  Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
  
   unless requested otherwise by the deceased's family. If left on it must be documented in the patient's property list.
• Wounds, including pressure sores, should be covered with a waterproof dressing
  Dressing (medical)
  A dressing is an adjunct used by a person for application to a wound to promote healing and/or prevent further harm. A dressing is designed to be in direct contact with the wound, which makes it different from a bandage, which is primarily used to hold a dressing in place...
  
  . Tube insertion points should be padded with gauze and tape to avoid purging.
• The patient is laid on his/her back with arms by their side (unless religious customs demand otherwise). Eyelid
  Eyelid
  An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. With the exception of the prepuce and the labia minora, it has the thinnest skin of the whole body. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid to "open" the eye. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily...
  
  s are closed.
• The jaw
  Jaw
  The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...
  
   is often supported with a pillow or cervical collar.
• Dentures
  Dentures
  Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...
  
   should be left in place, unless inappropriate.
• The bladder
  Bladder
  Bladder usually refers to an anatomical hollow organBladder may also refer to:-Biology:* Urinary bladder in humans** Urinary bladder ** Bladder control; see Urinary incontinence** Artificial urinary bladder, in humans...
  
   is drained by applying pressure on the lower abdomen
  Abdomen
  In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
  
  . Orifices are blocked only if leakage of body fluid is evident.
• The body is then washed and dried, the mouth cleaned and the face shaved.
• An identification bracelet is put on the ankle
  Ankle
  The ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...
  
  detailing: the name of the patient; date of birth; date and time of death; name of ward (if patient died in hospital); patient identification number.
• The body is dressed in a simple garment or wrapped in a shroud. An identification label duplicating the above information is pinned to the wrap or shroud.
• A stretcher drawsheet is placed under the body to enable removal to a trolley for transportation to the morgue. These trolleys may often be disguised to resemble laundry carts if transportation has to pass through areas where members of the public may be present.