Found 2 items, similar to Rigor mortis.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: rigor mortis rigor mortis n 1: temporary stiffness of joints and muscular rigidity occurring after death 2: muscular stiffening that begins 2 to 4 hours after death and last for about 4 days
English → English (gcide) Definition: Rigor mortis 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]