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KNOWvember: Day Three - Corpse Fever

11/3/2021

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“Hey, Dad. Have you ever heard of corpse fever?” 
 
When your 14-year-old son asks an odd question like that you have no other option but to hang your head low and confess, “No. I have not. What that is?” 

Now the downside to answering his question with a questing isn’t so much about looking unintelligent in front of you kid (which I did) but having to listen to him school you on the morbid topic of death. And to do so, as it was in my case, with exuberance and joy.
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“Corpse fever isn’t what it’s actually called. But it happens when your body dies, all the cells in your body see that you’re dying, and they react to produce more energy. They go full power to produce as much energy as possible to save your life. But you’re dead so it doesn’t matter. Yet for a brief second after you die your body is hot, like you have a fever. That’s how you can tell how long a body has been dead.”

I'm not sure if it was the subject matter or simply learning something new, but something pricked my interest and I wanted to learn more. It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am someone who believes in a soul. I can't explain what it is, I just feel something inside me. I also can't tell you why people die, only that we all do. All living things die. That's just a part of life.

Reincarnation, resurrection, spiritual transformation are just a few things about life and death you might want to know more about. If so, we can talk. But on this special KNOWvember day I just want to know what happens to your physical body after you die. Is corpse death really a thing? Or is it just some Scandinavian Death Metal band? Like so many things that make me curious, I googled it.
On the website, verywellhealth.com Chris Raymond had this to teach.
 
“We often think of the moment of death as that time at which the heartbeat and breathing stop. We are learning, however, that death isn't instant. Our brains are now thought to continue to "work" for 10 minutes or so after we die, meaning that our brains may, in some way, be aware of our death. The research, however, is only very preliminary.” (1)
 
Raymond says that right at the moment of death, “all of the muscles in the body relax, a state called primary flaccidity. Eyelids lose their tension, the pupils dilate, the jaw might fall open, and the body's joints and limbs are flexible.”
 
Of course, much more happens physically to your body. “With the loss of tension in the muscles, the skin will sag, which can cause prominent joints and bones in the body, such as the jaw or hips, to become pronounced. As muscles relax, sphincter tone diminishes, and urine and feces will pass.”
 
Instead of being fascinated by potty jokes, my son was gravitated to this corpse fever idea. It’s around this time, Raymond notes that “the body begins to cool from its normal temperature of 37 C (98.6 F) until reaching the ambient temperature around it. Known as algor mortis or the "death chill," the decrease in body temperature follows a somewhat linear progression: 1.5 degrees per hour.”
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​To my son’s point, this is how they measure or estimate how long you’ve been dead. Raymond said it like this, “The expected decrease in body temperature during algor mortis can help forensic scientists approximate the time of death, assuming the body hasn't completely cooled or been exposed to extreme environmental temperatures.”
Around in the third hour after you die, “chemical changes within the body's cells cause all of the muscles to begin stiffening, known as rigor mortis... the first muscles affected will be the eyelids, jaw, and neck.” Over the next several hours, this stiffening spreads over the entire body. (2)
 
And just when you think that’s all, I learned “After reaching a state of maximum rigor mortis, the muscles will begin to loosen due to continued chemical changes within the cells and internal tissue decay. The process, known as known as secondary flaccidity, occurs over a period of one to three days and is influenced by external conditions such as temperature.” (3) It’s in this final stage “the skin will begin to shrink, creating the illusion that hair and nails are growing.”  
 
Both my son and I found this fascinating. I hope you did too. Or at least got you a little more curious to KNOWsomething new.
  • Fun Facts:
    “The old custom of placing coins on the eyelids of the deceased might have originated from the desire to keep the eyes shut since rigor mortis affects them soonest."

  • "It is not unusual for infants and young children who die to not display rigor mortis, possibly due to their smaller muscle mass.”
  • ​Just in case you are interested, body bags can be purchased online!
Work Cited
Raymond, Chris. What Physically Happens to Your Body Right After Death. verywellhealth.com on October 24, 2021 (accessed on Nov. 2, 2021).
 
  1. Norton L, Gibson RM, Gofton T, et al. Electroencephalographic recordings during withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy until 30 minutes after declaration of death. Can J Neurol Sci. 2017;44(2):139-145. doi:10.1017/cjn.2016.309
  2. Mesri M, Behzadnia M, Dorooshi G. Accelerated rigor mortis: A case letter. J Res Med Sci. 2017;22:126. doi:10.4103/jrms.JRMS_599_17
  3. Ibid.
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    Ian Macdonald

    An ex-copywriter turned punk rock pastor and peacemaker who dedicates his life to making the world a better place for all humanity. 

    "that they all might be one"  ~John 17:21


    “Prius vita quam doctrina.”
    ​~ S
    t. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)​
    * “Life is more important than doctrine.”

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