Question:medium
Which structure is affected first in rigor mortis?
Which structure is affected first in rigor mortis?
Show Hint
Nysten's rule - involuntary muscle before voluntary, so the heart leads.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- Eyelids
- Myocardium
- Jaw
- Neck
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: After death, falling $ATP$ locks actin-myosin bridges, producing the rigid state we call rigor mortis.
Step 2: Nysten's rule tells us the stiffening is not random - it follows a fixed cranio-caudal pattern but begins in involuntary muscle.
Step 3: Since the myocardium is involuntary cardiac muscle, it is the earliest tissue to stiffen, ahead of any skeletal muscle.
Step 4: The skeletal sequence then runs upper eyelid, neck, jaw and face, so all the other options are later events.
\[\boxed{\text{Myocardium}}\]
Step 2: Nysten's rule tells us the stiffening is not random - it follows a fixed cranio-caudal pattern but begins in involuntary muscle.
Step 3: Since the myocardium is involuntary cardiac muscle, it is the earliest tissue to stiffen, ahead of any skeletal muscle.
Step 4: The skeletal sequence then runs upper eyelid, neck, jaw and face, so all the other options are later events.
\[\boxed{\text{Myocardium}}\]
Was this answer helpful?
0
Top Questions on Postmortem changes - water immersion
- A doctor at autopsy noticed the following finding on a cadaver (image showing marbling -- greenish-black discolouration over superficial veins of the skin). Which of the following is true regarding this finding?
- NEET (PG) - 2021
- Forensic Medicine
- Postmortem changes - water immersion
- A dead body was recovered from near a pond by the police. During autopsy, the following finding was observed (image showing markedly wrinkled, pale, sodden skin of the soles of the feet). The below phenomenon is due to
- NEET (PG) - 2021
- Forensic Medicine
- Postmortem changes - water immersion
- Want to practice more? Try solving extra ecology questions todayView All Questions
