Challenge Your Exam Readiness With Our Free Funeral Service Practice Questions

Rigor mortis is a postmortem chemical change caused by ATP depletion and actin-myosin cross-linking, resulting in temporary stiffening of muscles. In the preparation room, pronounced rigor can constrict vessels, reduce lumen diameter, and impede both arterial distribution and venous drainage. These effects can lead to uneven preservation and pronounced swelling if pressure is not managed. Best practice involves gentle manipulation and flexion/extension of major joints to break rigor before or during arterial injection, improving distribution signs and drainage quality. Care should be taken to avoid tissue damage when relieving rigor around the jaw and neck prior to feature setting. Rigor is self-limiting and will pass as decomposition progresses, but waiting is not practical; proactive management yields better results. Chemical considerations include appropriate pressure and flow, dye tracers to assess distribution, and solution strength matched to preservative demand. Breaking rigor does not “push” preservative into tissues by itself; rather, it removes a mechanical obstacle to effective intravascular and extravascular movement of fluids.