The body of Gene Hackman's wife showed signs of 'mummification,' reports say. Here's what that means.

Details continue to emerge regarding the deaths of actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, at the couple’s home in Santa Fe, N.M.

The bodies were discovered by a maintenance worker on Wednesday at approximately 1:45 p.m. According to a search warrant obtained by the Associated Press, the 95-year-old Oscar winner was found in an entryway, while his 65-year-old wife was found in a bathroom. An open prescription bottle and pills were scattered on a countertop near Arakawa. One of the couple’s dogs was also found deceased.

The couple appeared to have been dead for “some time,” the Associated Press reported. According to an affidavit obtained by multiple media outlets, Arakawa had “bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet.” The affidavit said that Hackman's body was found in a "similar and consistent" state to his wife's body.

While there are unanswered questions about what happened to Hackman and his wife, here’s what we know about mummification.

What does mummification mean in this case?

While the process of mummification is most commonly associated with the ancient Egyptian method of removing all moisture from a corpse so as to preserve it, that is different from what is being described in Arakawa’s case, experts say.

“Many changes occur to the body after death, called postmortem changes, and some of these changes are influenced by the environment in which the body is decomposing,” Dr. Brett Cohen, assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Yahoo News. “Mummification is a specific change that occurs to decomposing tissue that dries out and dehydrates.”

Mummification “happens in certain environments,” Dr. Andrew Meltzer, a professor of emergency medicine and chief of the Clinical Research Section at the George Washington University School of Medicine, told Yahoo News. “There is natural mummification and also precocious mummification, which is rapid mummification. That can happen in the right climate — hot, arid, dry conditions,” he said.

Mummification can also be limited to certain parts of the body, according to Cohen. “Partial mummification is when only parts of the body have features of mummification, mostly seen in the extremities, mixed with other postmortem changes in other body parts,” he said. “Complete mummification is when 100% of the body skin is affected.”

While mummification isn’t a term most people are familiar with, “it’s a pretty common term primarily used among the death-investigating crowd,” Dr. Michael Graham, a professor of pathology at Saint Louis University, told Yahoo News.

“‘Mummification’ is kind of borderline medical slang, but it is used in autopsy reports,” Dr. Gregory J. Davis, a forensic pathologist in Lexington, Ky., told Yahoo News.

What are the signs of mummification?

Mummified skin will often turn hard and brown, Cohen said, adding that it will also often be shrunken and brittle.

“It usually takes many days or weeks to see it,” Dr. James Gill, chief medical examiner for the state of Connecticut and clinical professor at Yale School of Medicine, told Yahoo News. “It may first be seen in the hands or feet or face because they dry out first.”

Can mummification happen to someone who is still alive?

In strict medical terms, mummification is a change that happens after someone has died, Dr. Richard Watkins, an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University, told Yahoo News. “A living person has circulating blood which brings nutrients to the tissues,” he said.

But some conditions, such as dry gangrene, can cause an appearance similar to mummification, Dr. Melissa Lockwood, a podiatrist at Heartland Foot and Ankle, told Yahoo News.

“It occurs when there is a significant reduction in blood supply to a body part,” Lockwood said. “We see it a lot in toes and feet because they are the farthest away from the heart, causing the tissue to die and dehydrate.”

Dry gangrene often happens in people with uncontrolled diabetes or severe peripheral artery disease, a condition in which the arteries that carry blood to the arms and legs narrow or are blocked, Lockwood said. “When blood flow to an area is severely compromised, the tissue dies but remains relatively dry, leading to the appearance of mummification,” she added. “In a living person, this can sometimes be incredibly painful and may necessitate surgical intervention such as amputation to prevent complications.”

What typically causes mummification?

Mummification can occur in certain climates, according to Graham. “It’s fairly common where it’s really dry,” he said.

Cohen concurred. “Most mummification occurs when a body decomposes in a hot, dry environment with airflow,” he said. “It can also occur in cold, windy and dry climates with protection from moisture, such as rain and snow.” Cohen also noted that mummification is considered a “late postmortem change” that happens at least 24 hours after death.

An investigation into the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa is ongoing.