For some patients, the expectation of the team is that they rest soon, seen to be suffering very, and the nursing perceives each piece that if spoils in one day. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the purpose, the techniques, materials and procedures of nursing in the care of the postmortem body. One is about a study of the bibliographical descriptive type, developed through periodic books, publications in and collected scientific articles in electronic data bases. The preparation of the body has as purposes: to keep the clean and identified body; to prevent odors and exit of secretions; to make use the body in position adjusted before cadavrica rigidity. The used materials: clamp pean; cotton; atadura of crepe; ether or benzine for withdrawal of esparadrapo; three sheets, stretcher; screen and two labels of identification. The procedures if summarize: To surround the stream bed with screen; to remove sounding leads, catheters and drains; to proceed to the cleanness of the body; to make the tamponamento of the orifices; to fix feet, hands and chins with atadura, to involve the body in the sheet; to place label in the thorax and another one in the sheet, to transfer the body to the stretcher; to direct the body for the morgue; notations of nursing of the beginning to the ending of the preparation; to deliver belongings the familiar ones and to request terminal cleanness of the stream bed.

CONCLUSION: It is evidenced that it is important and necessary the knowledge of the professionals of nursing in the preparation of the postmortem body, being they responsible them for managing this function. RASP (1994) affirms that the nursing must be understood as art and science of the people to coexist and to take care of of others, where has the attendance, in the possible measure do, of the necessities bio-psico-partner-spirituals, remaining itself the ethical principle to keep or to restore the dignity of the body in all the scopes of the life.