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Rigor mortis sets in due to non-functional "ATP powered calcium pumps" as a result of which the calcium ions stream out & the muscles remain in a suspended animation state.

But, it's a frequent observation (as can be seen from a coroner's report) that the time for rigor mortis to set in depends on external temperature, like it's earlier in summer, but late during winter.

So why this fluctuation?

Wikipedia has got an answer, but it's too brief.

When conditions are warm, the onset and pace of rigor mortis are sped up by providing a conducive environment for the metabolic processes that cause decay. Low temperatures, however, slow them down. Therefore, for a person who dies outside in frozen conditions rigor mortis may last several days more than normal.

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souvik bhattacharya
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  • @ChrisStronks , look up the highlighted text... – souvik bhattacharya Nov 20 '14 at 03:31
  • ATP is necessary to relax muscles. Perhaps depeletion of ATP is quicker at higher temperatures as any chemical reaction speeds up by about a factor of 2 (Q10). What is an ATP pump by the way? If it exists it is not involved in rigor mortis – AliceD Nov 20 '14 at 04:50
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    I meant ATP-powered calcium pumps or simply calcium ATP-ase... – souvik bhattacharya Nov 20 '14 at 05:54
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    Small point of clarification, are you asking why most biological process slow down at lower temperatures, including the process of decay? That is the essential point here. You're going to get slower onset and longer duration simply because you're going to get a lot less biochemical turnover and vibration (in the muscle as well as everywhere else). Fun fact: frozen stiff bodies, if done quick enough, might not develop rigor at all until thawed. – Atl LED Nov 21 '14 at 02:19
  • what is the question here? you already mentioned in the question the effect of temperature. For a more detailed report see this – WYSIWYG Nov 26 '14 at 12:04

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