On the nature of rigor mortis / by R. Norris.

  • Norris, Richard, 1830-1916.
Date:
[1867]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the nature of rigor mortis / by R. Norris. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ON moon MORTIS. for an hour after. Now if the state of rigor in the extensor had been the result of contraction, inasmuch as it was unopposed by any corresponding rigidity of the flexors, it must have resulted in an extension of the limb, which was not the case. The state of rigor, as exhibited in this extensor muscle, can only be regarded as an incapacity on the part of the muscle to be stretched 01 elongated; that is to say, rigor mortis had suspended the extensibility of the muscular structure, nothing more. When this occurs in antagonizing muscles it of course produces complete fixation of the osseous structures to which the muscles- are attached, which is the phenomenon of cadaveric rigidity. The rigid condition induced in the frog by prolonged immersion in Co2 appears to be identical with rigor mortis, and to have nothing in common with the ex- amples of contraction induced by extremes of temperature and exposure to aetherial vapours. Prop. II. We come now to the experimental verification of our second proposition. A vigorous frog was immersed in Co2. In about an hour it was removed and found to be dead. The muscles still retained their susceptibility to mild galvanism. The entire body was ex- ceedingly flaccid; i. e. the relaxation of the muscles was perfect. As a means of comparison I separated the hind extremities from the body and divided them from each other, of course retaining the bony structures to which the muscles of the thigh were attached. I now galvanized the muscles of one limb in every part till the irritability was entirely exhausted; and no further contraction, however slight, could be produced. The other limb remained per- fectly irritable. The muscles which had had their irritability de- stroyed remained in a perfectly relaxed state ; in this respect there was no difference between the two limbs. The irritability of the galvanized limb was destroyed at G.15 P.M. I now divided the extensor tendon of the foot of this limb and placed it in the ex- tended position to await the accession of rigor. The extensor tendon of the irritable limb was also divided. At 8.25 P.M. there Avas no return of the slightest irritability in the galvanized limb but there seemed to be slight evidence of commencing rigor; for if both limbs were held up perpendicularly, so that they mio-ht be flexed by the simple act of gravity, the knee-joint of the non- irritable limb did become flexed to the same extent as that of the other limb. The extensors on the thigh were therefore becoming flexed. On repeating this observation at 10 p.m., the