In embalming there are some bodies that need special treatment, those that are decomposing, trauma cases, frozen or drowned bodies, and those to be transported for long distances.

In embalming recreating bodies and features that have been damaged by accident or disease is known as restorative art, and is a sub-speciality inside embalming   Although all qualified embalmers have some degree of training and practise in it. A skilled embalmer can often make the deceased look so natural that the embalmer appears to have done nothing at all.

Embalming autopsy cases is different from standard embalming because the post mortem disrupts the circulatory system with the removal of organs for examination. In these cases, a six-point injection is made through the two illiac or femoral arteries, subclavian or axillary vessels, and common carotids, with the viscera treated separately with cavity fluid or a special embalming powder in a viscera bag. In many morgues in the United States and New Zealand, these necessary vessels are carefully preserved during the autopsy.

Long-term preservation requires different techniques, such as using stronger preservative chemicals and multiple injection sites to ensure thorough saturation of body tissues. 

In embalming a different process is used for bodies that are embalmed for dissection by medical and funeral service students.

The first priority is to get long term preservation.  So medical embalmers use embalming fluids that are nearly pure formaldehyde, made without dyes or perfumes. Instead of using an embalming machine, anatomical embalmers may use gravity-feed embalming, where the container dispensing the embalming fluid is elevated above the body's level and fluid is slowly introduced over a longer period of time, sometimes as long as several days. Unlike funeral home embalming, no drainage occurs and the body distends with fluid that eventually reduces, leaving a normal appearance.