Effect of Factors Influencing Rigor Mortis - a Medico-legal Study to Estimate Postmortem Interval

Rigor Mortis is one of the early signs of death. It is a state of stiffening and shortening of the muscles after death. Rigor Mortis is an important indicator of post-mortem interval. Though it is a reliable tool of estimating postmortem interval, it is influenced by many endogenous and exogenous factors. Temperature and humidity, nature of death, condition of the muscles before death are very important factors which influence the onset, development and passing away of rigor mortis. In the present study 500 medico-legal autopsy cases were taken to note down the effect of these factors on rigor mortis.