First, the body fluids must be drained and replaced with a formaldehyde-based product, said Richard Arnold, managing director of the Embalmer Training School in Britain and a qualified embalmer for 20 years.

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She talks without crying about how she saw her son's bullet-pocked uniform and how the embalmer did a good job putting Mark back together after his killer shot him in the face.

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The instruments were saved by the senior embalmer at the Memphis Funeral Home, which prepared Presley's body following his death in August 1977.

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Each embalmer works with individual artistry, he said, with many around the world creating their own mixes of chemicals to achieve the best results in local conditions.

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