'Rigor mortis' definitions:
Definition of 'rigor mortis'
(from WordNet)
noun
Temporary stiffness of joints and muscular rigidity occurring after death
noun
Muscular stiffening that begins 2 to 4 hours after death and lasts for about 4 days
Definition of 'Rigor mortis'
From: GCIDE
- Rigor \Ri"gor\, n. [L. See Rigor., below.]
- 1. Rigidity; stiffness. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (ed.) A sense of chilliness, with contraction of the skin; a convulsive shuddering or tremor, as in the chill preceding a fever. [1913 Webster]
- Rigor caloris[L., rigor of heat] (Physiol.), a form of rigor mortis induced by heat, as when the muscle of a mammal is heated to about 50[deg] C.
- Rigor mortis[L., rigor of death], death stiffening; the rigidity of the muscles that occurs at death and lasts till decomposition sets in. It is due to the formation of myosin by the coagulation of the contents of the individual muscle fibers. [1913 Webster]