algor
1
9.9
The cooling of a dead body after someone dies
- noun
- /ˈælɡər/
- Specialized
:
algor
- Algor mortis is the first assessment in determining the time of death.
Examples
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Algor mortis indicated he had been dead about twelve hours when he was found; body temperature was about eighty degrees.
Fiction book (1997) -
To determine the time of death, investigators often check for algor mortis in the deceased.
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Signs of livor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, in the percede external wounds.
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The doctor explained that algor mortis occurs as the body cools after death.
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The term algor refers specifically to the cooling process occurring post-mortem.
Antonyms
How Cold
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word algor comes from Latin for 'cold' and is best known in the medical phrase algor mortis, which means 'coldness of death'. That's why doctors use algor to talk about the body's cooling after death and to help estimate the time of death.