In the minds of ordinary people in the street, the strong belief that with the moment of physical death all biological processes stop in the body of the deceased, and his body gradually begins to decompose. About 10 body functions that do not fade after the death of a person, we will discuss further.
10. Digestion
Who would have thought that when a person leaves this world, his digestive tract continues not only to digest digested food, but also to some extent digest it. This is due to the fact that many microorganisms live in our body, some of which are an integral part in the mechanism of food digestion. When a person dies, the life of these bacteria does not stop, and they continue to actively fulfill their biological purpose. In addition, some of them are involved in the production of gas, thanks to which lumps of digested food can move through the dead intestines.
9. Erection and ejaculation
Speaking abstractly, the heart muscle is a physiological pump that pumps blood from one part of the body to another. When this organ ceases to fulfill its function, blood circulation stops, due to which blood accumulates in the lowest part of the body. If a person dies in a standing position or lying on his stomach, then it is not difficult to guess where he will collect most of the blood. In addition, certain groups of muscle cells after death are activated by calcium ions. Thanks to this, after the actual onset of death, an onset of erection followed by ejaculation is possible.
8. Nail and hair growth
This function is difficult to put on a par with the others given in this article, since it is more an external feature of almost all dead bodies than a truly biological process that is active after a person dies. Of course, inanimate cells cannot reproduce either hair or nails, however, after the death, the skin loses moisture, which is why it is slightly pulled back, exposing some part of the hair that was previously in the thickness of the skin. At the same time, visually it seems that the dead man’s hair and nails really grow.
7. Muscle movements
After the death of the brain, some parts of the nervous system may remain in a state of activity for some time. Scientists have repeatedly registered the occurrence of reflexes in dead patients, in which an impulse went through the nerve fibers not to the brain, but to the spinal cord, due to which the deceased had muscle twitches or spasm.
6. Brain activity
In modern medicine, there are often situations when the brain has actually died, and the heart continues to function. The opposite and no less common situation - when the cardiac activity stops, the brain technically continues to live for several more minutes. At this time, brain cells use all possible resources in order to find the necessary oxygen and nutrients to continue life. This short period, inside of which it is still possible to restore the normal functioning of the brain, in our time it is quite realistic to extend it to several days with the help of certain drugs and during the necessary measures.
5. urination
Many people think that the physiological act of urine discharge is an absolutely arbitrary action. However, this is not quite true. Our consciousness does not really control this mechanism - a certain part of the cerebral cortex is responsible for it. In addition, this zone takes an active part in the regulation of the respiratory system and cardiac activity. With rigor mortis, the muscles should freeze, but this does not happen for some time after death. At the very moment of death, the smooth and skeletal muscles relax, due to which the external sphincter of the urethra opens and, accordingly, the urine leaves.
Narcotic substances and alcohol inhibit the functioning of the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for urination. Therefore, people under the influence of these substances often have an involuntary discharge of urine.
4. Skin cell growth
Oddly enough, but this function also does not die out immediately after death. Skin cells are one of the few in the human body that do not need uninterrupted blood supply. Therefore, with the moment the cardiac activity stops, they continue to function and reproduce their own kind for a while.
3. Birth of a child
Documents confirming that in the history of mankind there have been cases of the so-called “post-mortem delivery” have come down to our time. The essence of this ritual is that if a woman died late in her pregnancy, then she was not buried until her body pushed the fetus out. This mechanism is due to the accumulation of gases inside the body, which serve as a certain driving force leading the fetus through the birth canal.
2. Defecation
For many of us, it is no secret that at times of great excitement, our body seeks to get rid of the end products of vital activity. This happens because at the moment of stress certain muscle groups relax sharply, which causes a slight embarrassment. If we talk about the physical death of a person, then in this case post-mortem defecation is facilitated not only by relaxation of all muscles, but also by increased gas production in the intestine, which occurs as a result of the death of organic tissues. Departure of feces can occur a few hours or a day after death.
1. Vocalization
Such a function is very ominous, especially if you do not know the nature of this phenomenon. Rigor mortis affects almost all muscle groups, including those that functioned inside the vocal apparatus. Because of this, a dead body can produce quiet sounds, reminiscent of moans or wheezing.