What is the effect of rigor mortis on the body?

• A. Body becomes cold
• B. Body becomes stiff
• C. Body decomposes rapidly
• D. Body remains flexible

Answer: (B)

Rigor mortis refers to the postmortem stiffening of the muscles due to biochemical changes in the body after death. It begins a few hours after death, typically starting in the smaller muscles and progressing to the larger muscle groups. This stiffness occurs because, after death, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production ceases, leading to the inability of muscles to relax. The proteins in the muscle fibers, particularly actin and myosin, become fixed in place, which results in the characteristic rigidity of rigor mortis.

This process serves important practical implications in mortuary science, as it can impact the preparation of the body for embalming. Understanding rigor mortis is crucial for embalmers when determining the timing of embalming procedures, as they may need to manipulate or break the rigidity before proceeding with the embalming process itself.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately describe the effect of rigor mortis. For instance, the body does become cold after death due to the cessation of internal metabolic processes, but that phenomenon is related to the state of algor mortis rather than rigor mortis. The rapid decomposition noted in one of the alternatives is not a direct effect of rigor mortis; instead, decomposition is a separate