How long does it take for a body to stiffen after death?
Short Answer: 3hrs, but reaches maximum stiffness after 12hrs
Rigor mortis (Latin meaning "stiffness of death") is one of the recognizable signs of death that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff and difficult to move or manipulate. In humans it commences after about 3 hours, reaches maximum stiffness after 12 hours, and gradually dissipates until approximately 72 hours (3 days) after death. Heat sources such as fire can speed up the process of rigor mortis.
This information is taken from Yahoo! Answers, and more detail can be found in the links section above.
Does a body bleed after death?
Short Answer: No spurting, but can leak if the wound is positioned low enough on the body
Bleeding can only happen because of pressure, whether from a pumping heart, or from gravity. Directly after death, there may still be some residual arterial pressure for 30 minutes. If one were to nick an artery during this time, there may be a single squirt, but only a little. The muscles relaxes around 30 minutes after death, which in turn relieves the pressure on the arteries. At this point onwards, bleeding can only happen because of gravity. E.g. if you cut a body in the waist and lay them flat, there will be little to no bleeding. But if you lift them into a sitting position, the weight of the blood in the upper body will provide enough pressure for "bleeding" (i.e. leaking out slowly) to happen in the waist.
This information is taken from Askville Amazon.
Last edited by sagittaeri on Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
#2: Author: Seraphi, Location: Penna, having a hot cup of teaPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:47 pm — I have no forthcoming questions, but here is a useful link with all sorts of tidbits:
