rig·or mor·tis .rig-ər-'mȯrt-əs also chiefly Brit .rī-.gȯ(ə)r- n temporary rigidity of muscles occurring after death
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the stiffening of a body that occurs within some eight hours of death, due to chemical changes in muscle tissue. It starts to disappear after about 24 hours.
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the stiffening of a dead body, accompanying the depletion of adenosine triphosphate in the muscle fibers.Medical dictionary. 2011.