4/122016 What causes rigor mortis?

HowStuffWorks
I

What causes rigor mortis?

BY HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM CONTRIBUTORS HEALTH DEATH & DYING

I

Browse the article What causes rigor mortis?

CRIME SCENE DO cnss

Rigor mortis can play an important role in crime scene investigation.
See more death pictures.
O ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/LEGGNET

Rigor mortis is the reason why the word 'Istiff" is a slang term for a dead body. Two or
three hours after a person or animal dies, the muscles start to stiffen. This phenomenon
progresses in a downward, head-to-toe direction. In 12 to 18 hours the body is, as the

saying goes, stiff as a board. At this stage, you can move the joints only by force, breaking
them in the process.

It ta kes about two days for rigor mortis to fade, and once it does, decay sets in. If the

body isn't embalmed or cooled to 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 degrees Celsius) or below,

it will quickly decompose.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/deathrdying/rigor-mortis-cause.htm/printable 1/7
4/1212016 What causes rigor mortis? HowStuffWorks
I

To people who work in mortuaries, rigor is an unimportant, temporary condition. It may

require them to massage the deceased's extremities to reduce stiffness and allow for
easier, more effective embalming. But to police, medical examiners and lawyers in the

criminal justice system, rigor mortis has much more significance. It's a clue to

understanding the circumsta nces of someone's unexpected -- and possibly violent --

death. Rigor mortis is a piece of the forensic jigsaw puzzle, and combined with other
details, it can help detectives and medical examiners figure out what happened.

But what turns flexible joints into immovable structu res, and why does the process

reverse itself later? Next, we'll look at why muscle tissue goes through this
transformation after death.

Nysten's Law
In 1812, a French pediatrician named Pierre Nysten recorded his observation that

rigor mortis follows a downward progression that begins in the upper region of the
body, around the face and head, and travels in a set pattern down to the rest of body
and the extremities. Known as Nysten's law, this principle likely reflects the fact that

rigor mortis while affecting all muscles in the same way at the same time --
becomes noticeable first in small muscle groups, such as those around the eyes,
mouth and jaws, and becomes pronounced somewhat later in the larger muscles of

the lower limbs.

The Chemicals of Life and Rigor Mortis

Why does a dead body go board-stiff for two or more days? The easiest answer boils
down to this: A biochemical chain reaction that causes a living person's muscles to move
stops working when someone dies. When the reaction stops, the muscles become

locked p\ovce.
You have to look deep inside muscle cells to find a more detailed explanation. At the

microscopic level, skeletal muscle fibers -- the ones that attach to your bones -s- have two

main parts:

o Thick filaments, made of the protein molecule myosin

• Thin filaments, made of the protein molecule actin

The fibers include other proteins as well, but actin and myosin are at the heart of rigor
4/12/2016 What causes rigor mortis? HowStuffVVorks
I

When you lift a weight or scratch your head, a nerve impulse sets off a biochemical

reaction that causes myosin to stick to actin. These two molecules lock together, pulling

the muscle's thick and thin filaments toward each other. When thousands of filaments
pull together all at once, over and over, you have a muscle contraction. You can read
more about all the steps of this process in How Muscles Work.
Once the actin and myosin molecules stick together, they stay that way until another
molecule, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), attaches to the myosin and forces it to let go.

Your body uses the oxygen you breathe to help make AT 2 That oxygen supply ends, of

course, with death. Without AT P, the thick and thin filaments can't slide away from each
other. The result is that the muscles stay contracted -- hence rigor mortis.

During rigor mortis, another process called autolysis takes place. This is the self-

digestion of the body's cells. The walls of the cells give way, and their contents flow out.

Rigor mortis ends not because the muscles relax, but because autolysis takes oven The
muscles break down and become soft on their way to further decomposition.

Although this helps explain why rigor mortis comes and goes, it's the outward
appearance -- the relative stiffness of the body -- rather than the process that's of most
interest to investigators. Next, we'll explore how the gradual progression of rigor mortis

plays a part in solving crimes.

Livor and Algor Mortis

While the process of rigor mortis is taking place, two other events occur: livor mortis

and algor mortis. Livor mortis refers to the maroon or purplish discoloration of the

skin that happens when blood, particularly red blood cells, stops circulating and
settles in the area of the body closest to the ground. If a person dies while lying on his

or her back with the head turned to one side, livor mortis will show up on the back
and the side of the face that is facing downward. Algor mortis is the gradual cooling

of the body until it reaches the same temperature as the air around it.

Rigor Mortis at the Crime Scene

http]/health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/death-dying/rigor-mortis-cause.htm/printable
4/12/2016 What causes rigor mortis? HowStufiWorks
I

A body goes stiff in the exact position it was in when the person died. Ifthe body's

position doesn't match up with the location where someone found it for example, if it's

flat on its back in bed with one arm sticking straight up -- that could mean someone
moved it.

Although it's an imperfect marker of the time of death, rigor mortis is useful because it's

like an alarm clock set to go off and stop ringing within a known time span. Several

variables affect the progression of rigor mortis, and investigators must take these into

account when estimating the time of death. These include:

Ambient temperature: Warm conditions speed up the onset and pace of

rigor mortis by providing a hospitable environment for the bacteria and
processes that cause decay. Cold temperatures, on the other hand, slow it

down. If someone dies outside in freezing temperatures, rigor mortis can last

for days. Investigators might abandon it entirely as a tool for estimating the

time of death.
Physical exertion just prior to death: If someone dies while engaged in

strenuous activity like exercising or struggling against drowning, rigor mortis

can set in immediately. This instant onset, sometimes called cadaveric

spasm, happens because the person's muscles, at the moment of death,
were depleted of oxygen energy and AT P. This is why the victim of a violent

attack may still be clutching the attacker's hair or a piece of clothing.

• Fat distribution: Fat acts as insulation, causing rigor mortis to develop

more slowly.
• Age or illness: In people with low muscle mass, such as children and the
elderly, or in those with a fever or a debilitating disease, rigor will progress

quickly.

Because rigor mortis leaves a lot of room for doubt, forensic pathologists rely on other
indicators that provide greater certainty as to time of death. These include:

o Body temperature: The body cools at the rate of 1.5 to 2 degrees per

hour. A body that registers approximately 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33.33

degrees Celsius) has been dead about four hours.

• Stomach contents: By determining the degree of digestion of the last

http://heal th.howstuffworks.com/di seases-condi tions/deatlydying/rigor-m orti s-cause. htm/pri ntable

4/12/2016 What causes rigor mortis? HowStufiWorks
I

meal, examiners can gauge how long the person lived after eating.

• Insect activity: Flies gather around the eyes, mouth and other openings
to feed on the body's fluids. Forensic entomologists can determine

approximately how long someone's been dead by observing the life cycle of

the flies, as well as their eggs and larvae.

But without an eyewitness, investigators can only estimate the time of death -- not

pinpoint it for certain. To learn more about crime scenes, forensics and related topics,

see the links on the next page.

Livor Mortis at the Crime Scene

Lividity -- the telltale purple coloring that develops when the body has been in one
position for a while -- doesn't lie. Once the blood has congealed, it will tell the story

of a body's change in position after death.

 4/21/23 7
Name: Anmol Patel, Sophia, Elaina, Dante Date: Block:

What Causes Riqor Mortis?

stiff is an informal term for a dead body.
1)

muscles
2) Two to three hours after a person or animal dies, the
start to stiffen.

Pierre Nysten recorded a downward

his observation that rigor mortis follows
3)
progression that begins in the upper region of the body, around the face, and
head, and travels in a set pattern down to the rest of the body and the
extremities.

Nysten's Law was observed in muscles

4)

5) Skeletal muscle fibers have two main parts, thick filaments, made of the protein
molecule myosin and thin filaments, made of the protein molecule
actin

6) Once the actin and myosin molecules stick together, they stay that way until
adenosine triphosphate or ATP attaches to the myosin and forces it to
let go.

ATP
7) Without the thick and thin filaments can't slide away from
each other and the result is that muscles stay contracted„ hence rigor mortis.

autolysis takes place which

8) During rigor mortis, another process called is

the self-digestion of the body's cells.

Livor mortis refers to the maroon or purplish discoloration of the skin

9)
that happens when blood, particularly red blood cells, stops circulating and
settles in the area of the body closest to the ground.

Algor
10) mortis is the gradual cooling of the body until it reaches the same
temperature as the air around it.

11)Several variables affect the progression of rigor mortis, and investigators must
take these into account when estimating time of death: ambient temperature,
physical exertion just prior to death,
fat distribution, and age or
illness.

12) Rigor mortis is useful, but leaves a lot of room for doubt, forensic pathologists

rely on other indicators that provide certainty as to the time of death. These
include: body temperature stomach contents and
insect activity.