I'm currently working on a sweet Christmas story. So far I haven't had to worry about time of death as no fresh body has landed in the snow around my heroine's country house. While I do not plan to kill anyone in my current work-in-progress, the same couldn't be said about my previous stories.
In an investigation, it helps to determine the time and cause of death. We've all heard the terms algor mortis, livor mortis, or rigor mortis, but what do they mean, and mostly importantly how and why do they occur?
Sooner or later, preferably later, we all die, but what happens to our physical body between the time we die and the time we become dust or ashes?
By nature, I'm a very curious person and I ask lots of questions. Sometimes, too many. 
If I'd pursued my degree in science instead of switching
to accounting, I would have become a pathologist/medical
examiner/coroner, so when I stumbled on an article about the weird things that happen after you die, I couldn't resist reading--and sharing.
- Your cells burst open
The process of decomposition starts just minutes after death. When the heart stops beating, we experience algor mortis, or death chill, when the temperature of the body falls about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit an hour until it reaches room temperature. Almost immediately, the blood becomes more acidic as carbon dioxide builds up. This causes cells to split open, emptying enzymes into the tissues, which start to digest themselves from within.
- You turn white — and purple
Gravity makes its mark on the human body in the first moments after death. While the rest of your body turns deathly pale, heavy red blood cells move to the parts of your body that are closest to the ground. This is because circulation has stopped. The results are purple splotches over your lower parts known as livor mortis. By studying the markings of livor mortis, the coroner can determine when the victim die and if the body was moved.
- Calcium makes your muscles contract
Rigor mortis is when a dead body becomes stiff and hard to move. Rigor mortis generally sets in about three to four hours after death, peaks at 12 hours, and dissipates after 48 hours. It is caused by the pumps in the membranes of our muscle cells that regulate calcium. When the pumps stop working in death, calcium floods the cells, causing the muscles to contract and stiffen.
- Your organs will digest themselves
Putrefaction follows rigor mortis. This phase is delayed by the embalming process, but eventually the body will succumb. Enzymes in the pancreas make the organ begin to digest itself. Microbes will tag-team these enzymes, turning the body green from the belly onwards. As this bacterium breaks us down, it releases putrescine and cadaverine, the compounds that make the human body smell in death.
- You may be covered in a wax
After putrefaction, decay moves quickly to turn the body into a skeleton. However, some bodies take an interesting turn on the way. If a body comes into contact with cold soil or water, it may develop adipocere, a fatty, waxy material formed from the bacteria breaking down tissue. Adipocere works as a natural preservative on the inner organs. It can mislead investigators into thinking a body died much sooner than it actually did.
- You will probably move
This last one sounds strange, and creepy, but apparently a body doesn't just twitch as it goes through the process of decomposition, it can move quite a lot...
Now, this was everything you probably didn't want to know about what happens after you die.
Happy Reading & Stay Safe
JS
Reference: Treehugger.com
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