0
After death, respiration in organisms ceases to occur, depleting the corpse of oxygen used in the making of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is no longer provided to operate the SERCA pumps in the membrane of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which pump calcium ions into the terminal cisternae. This causes calcium ions to diffuse from the area of higher concentration (in the terminal cisternae and extracellular fluid) to an area of lower concentration (in the sarcomere), binding with troponin and allowing for crossbridging to occur between myosin and actin proteins.
Unlike in a normal muscle contraction, after death the body is unable to complete the cycle and release the coupling between the myosin and actin, creating a perpetual state of muscular contraction, until the breakdown of muscle tissue by digestive enzymes during decomposition. As part of the process of decomposition, the myosin heads are eaten off by bacteria, allowing the muscle contraction to release and the body to relax.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What does it mean if you call someone a boring stiff?
it basically means that they are as boring as a dead person, as 'stiff' is slang for a dead body.
What does a dead body feel like before it becomes stiff?
Chemical changes in the blood after death cause a dead body to become stiff within hours after death. This stiffness is called rigor mortis. It usually goes away within 12 hours of onset.
When the extremities are stiff and rigid what kind of posturing is it?
Rigor mortis is dead stiff body, not really called posturing.
Can you revive a puppy after it is stiff?
Sadly, no. Once the dead puppy has become stiff, rigor mortis has set in and there is nothing that can be done to revive it.
Why are embaled bodies hard?
Embalming basically dehydrates the body and uses various chemicals to coat the body's tissues. Ever eaten a peice of beef jerky? That's a dead body. Dehydrated and stiff. Of course, the body naturally goes stiff after death when the muscles seize up and become a little like beef jerky.
What is the state of the body after death in which the muscles become stiff called?
rigor mortis
What is a sentence with the word stiff?
The dead body was already stiff when I found it there.
What are synonyms of the word corpse?
dead body, cadaver, carcass, stiff, remains, carrion, the deceased, roadkill
Why does your blood need to be pumping through your body?
(Just guessing to the best of my ability.) Because without blood circulation your body would become stiff, and start to rot away. Basically, your body needs to pump blood so all of your organs will continue to function and to keep your body from just stiffening up and becoming a chunk of dead meat.
If a hamster is stiff does it mean its dead?
If it is like that, cold and not breathing, yes, it is dead.
What word starts with s that means dead?
stiff
Why dead body become heavy?
Actually this is our misconception that a body become heavy after death, but in fact a person when died he or she loss equilibrium and then its seems to us heavy.
