Answer to Question #150305 in Physical Chemistry for sally

Question

Based on you understanding of what causes rigor mortis, deduce how rigor mortis can be hastened on the site of the most active muscle before dead. Explain

Answer 1

Let's consider biochemical basis of rigor mortis:

1) After death, the concentration of ATP inside cells begins to fall.

2) Once there is no ATP left in the cell, myosin heads bonds with actin filaments and muscle fibers become frozen.

After death, the pool of creatine-phosphate can maintain ATP levels for a while. On the site of the most active muscle the pool of creatine-phosphate would be small, and hence only able maintain cellular ATP levels for a short time.