When a suicide victim was found, the coroner was unable to remove the drug vial clutched in his hand. Explain the reasons for this. If the victim had been discovered three days later, would the coroner have had the same difficulty? Explain.

Video transcript

Hi, everyone. Here's my next question. It says rigor mortis is a phenomenon that occurs after death where the muscles of the body undergo stiffening and contraction. Which of the following is the main reason why a dead body may experience obor mortis. A sudden temperature change. B lack of oxygen supply, C A T P depletion or D rapid blood clotting. Well, the main characteristic of rigor mortis is that muscle stiffening as a result of the muscles remaining in a contracted state and that would occur because they don't, aren't able to take the step that is required for the muscle to relax again, for a muscle to relax. A molecule of A T P binds to the min head which causes the release of the cross bridge that binding between the myo and the act and filament. So, if there's no A T P muscles can't relax because you don't have a final step, the cross bridge will remain linked and the muscles will remain in a contracted state. And of course, as soon as death occurs, A T P production shuts down along with respiration. So choice C A T P depletion is the specific main reason for the occurrence of rigor mortis, other things are involved. So lack of oxygen supply, well, you need oxygen to produce A T P. That oxygen is coming from respiration which has ceased with breathing. But the direct cause is the A T P depletion since the A T P is needed for muscle relaxation. So choice B, lack of oxygen supply isn't the best explanation and choice d rapid blood clotting doesn't really have anything to do with that process. And finally, choice, a sudden temperature change. Um Cold temperatures can uh delay the onset of rigor mortis or delay its progression. But aren't the main reason why it's experienced? So choice A is not correct. So again, the main reason why a dead body experiences rigor mortis is choice C A T P depletion. See you in the next video.