I've never been able to find an answer to this question. A member of my family died in her sleep of an apparent heart attack. The next day when we saw the body at the funeral home, we were shocked to see the dead woman's face, which appeared to be contorted into a grimace, or a frown. I had never seen anything like this before, and never even heard of something like this. Without going into detail, the manager blamed the coroner's staff for not treating the body properly before delivering it to the home. We were grieving and too much in shock to ask questions at the time. But I would like to know what caused this distortion of her face. Serious answers only *please*. Thank you.
2006-09-11 05:31:37 · 5 answers · asked by Emerald Blue 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Oh my, the ridiculous rambling from the person above me in 99% untrue. If you die with your eyes open (as almost everyone does!!) you certainly are able to close them!! And rigor mortis DOES NOT, I repeat, DOES NOT shorten any muscles!! It is simply the stiffening of the body!! We do not cut the stomach muscle, bodies do not EVER sit up (urban legend) and the reason for facial contorture could be due to many factors, such as poor attention to facial features. Sometimes if the person was typically a frowner, they will be in the casket, too. Also, it had nothing to do with the coroner. It was that the funeral home didn't pay enough attention to detail or there was simply nothing they could do to try to fix the grimace. Sorry for your loss, God bless!
2006-09-11 14:54:31 · answer #1 · answered by Reagan 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Its probably just a result of decomposition. When you die the bacteria in your mouth does not die with you and decomposition begins immediately after death. Also, when you die your body goes into rigor mortis, which is basically all of the muscles in your body clenching up. Once your body is out of rigor mortis, which can take around 24 hours, the body goes limp again and the skin on your face can sag, especially if it has already begun to deteriorate, just due to gravity.
2006-09-11 05:38:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are several things that can cause muscle contractions and facial distortions upon death.
For one, all the muscles cease to function after death. So if you had your eyes open, they'll likely remain open as that muscle that causes you to close them is no longer functioning. That is why we release our bladder and bowels upon death as well, those muscles can no longer function to hold in all that waste material.
Another thing that can happen is rigormortis. Rigormortis is when the muscles shorten, and that is why they cut the stomach muscles after death, to prevent them from shortening (which would cause the body to lock into a sitting position, almost impossible to reverse once it's happened). I believe rigormortis is the result of loss of bloodflow and fluids that keep the muscles nice and moist and flexible, so they dry out and become tense. That loss of fluids can also cause strange things to happen to the skin, such as loss of elasticity, drying, wrinkling, and more.
Lastly, depending on how you die, there can be bloating. If you die in water, for example, the body can bloat and it can end up looking like a completely different person.
www.paranormal-society.com
2006-09-11 07:54:34 · answer #3 · answered by jlo5616 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Your muscles are no longer functional, which plays a major role in the appearance of your face.
2006-09-11 05:33:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trying to get the last fart out.
2006-09-11 05:34:09 · answer #5 · answered by David G 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋