Crossword clues for putrefaction
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Putrefaction \Pu`tre*fac"tion\, n. [L. putrefactio: cf. F. putr['e]faction. See Putrefy.]
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The act or the process of putrefying; the offensive decay of albuminous or other matter.
Note: Putrefaction is a complex phenomenon involving a multiplicity of chemical reactions, always accompanied by, and without doubt caused by, bacteria and vibriones; hence, putrefaction is a form of fermentation, and is sometimes called putrefaction fermentative. Putrefaction is not possible under conditions that preclude the development of living organisms. Many of the products of putrefaction are powerful poisons, and are called cadaveric poisons, or ptoma["i]nes.
The condition of being putrefied; also, that which putrefied. ``Putrefaction's breath.''
--Shelley.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
c.1400, from Old French putrefaction (14c.), from Latin putrefactionem (nominative putrefactio), noun of action from past participle stem of putrefacere "to make rotten," from putrere "to be rotten" (see putrid) + facere "to make, do" (see factitious).
Wiktionary
n. 1 The act of causing to rot; the anaerobic splitting of proteins by bacteria and fungi with the formation of malodorous, incompletely oxidized products. 2 Rotten material. 3 The state of being rotten.
WordNet
n. decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor [syn: rot]
(biology) decaying caused by bacterial or fungal action [syn: decomposition, rot, rotting]
Wikipedia
Putrefaction is the fifth stage of death, following pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, and livor mortis. This process references the breaking down of a body of a human or animal post mortem (meaning after death). In broad terms, it can be viewed as the decomposition of proteins, and the eventual breakdown of the cohesiveness between tissues, and the liquefaction of most organs. This is caused by the decomposition of organic matter by bacterial or fungal digestion, which causes the release of gases that infiltrate the body's tissues, and leads to the deterioration of the tissues and organs.
The approximate time it takes putrefaction to occur is dependent on various factors. Internal factors that affect the rate of putrefaction include the age at which death has occurred, the overall structure and condition of the body, the cause of death, and external injuries arising before or after death. External factors include environmental temperature, moisture and air exposure, clothing, burial factors, and light exposure.
The first signs of putrefaction are signified by a greenish discoloration on the outside of the skin on the abdominal wall corresponding to where the large intestine begins, as well as under the surface of the liver.
Certain substances, such as carbolic acid, arsenic, strychnine, nux vomica, and zinc chloride, can be used to delay the process of putrefaction in various ways based on their chemical make up. At body farms, facilities which study the process of decomposition as well as how these substances affect the rate of putrefaction, cadavers are put in different environmental conditions to study how the process of decomposition can be affected. There are six University Body Farm Research Facilities in the world, all located within the United States, which include the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Western Carolina University, Texas State University, Sam Houston State University, Southern Illinois University, and Colorado Mesa University. Two prospective body farms will open outside of the United States, in Australia and India.
Usage examples of "putrefaction".
Not only is it an alterative and a nutritive restorative, acting upon the secretions, but it opposes putrefaction and degenerative decay of the fluids and solids.
Despite the odour of putrefaction, Bas was pacing along the curving length of the dead reptile.
Sir, putrefaction, Solution, ablution, sublimation, Cohobation, calcination, ceration, and Fixation.
Initial decay, putrefaction, black putrefaction, butyric putrefaction, and dry decay.
It is almost impossible to get them strong enough to have any real effect in checking putrefaction of the food or diseases of the gums, without making them too irritating or poisonous.
Mmmhmmm, sweet fishy rancidness, mmhmm, sour cheesy putrefaction, mmHMMM taste that decay, mmHmMM?
Now that it was in the deep darkness of the cave, the creature was shining brightly with its own internally generated light This was not the phosphorescence of putrefaction, but a deeply originated glow which shone through the deep and waxlike skin and hinted of luminous reactions unconnected with bioluminescence.
Those faceless discords, out of nature strayed, Rank of the putrefaction ere decayed, In impious singles bear the thorny wreaths: Their lives are where harmonious Pleasure breathes For couples crowned with flowers that burn in dew.
He coughed, blinking back the stinging aftertaste of putrefaction that made his eyes water and his tongue turn dry.
This the obscure artist calls conjunction, sublimation, assation, extraction, putrefaction, ligation, desponsation, subtilization, generation, etc.
The homunculus was becoming loose and flabby, collapsing in on itself in dreadful, high-speed putrefaction.
With it came the stink of my own putrefaction, my bowels voiding as I thrashed to the ground, the lunatic ringing of cicadas in my head as the high D of blood whined in my constricting vessels.
We scraped it with fish sealers to get the deep-sea shark suckers off, we washed it down with creolin and rock salt to fix up the marks of putrefaction, we powdered his face with starch to hide the burlap repairs and paraffin stuffing that we had to use to restore the face that had been pecked away by dungheap birds, we gave him back the color of life with woman's rouge and üpstick, but not even the glass eyes stuck into the empty sockets could give him the stamp of authority he needed if we were to put him on display for the masses.
A columbarium, or hatchery of some sort, dark and reeking of decay, putrefaction and gangrene-a birthing center for monsters.
Bad as was parching under the burning sun whose fiery rays bred miasma and putrefaction, it was still not so bad as having one's life chilled out by exposure in nakedness upon the frozen ground to biting winds and freezing sleet.