hypostasis
- noun
- /haɪˈpɒstəsɪs/
- Specialized
- The medical examiner noted hypostasis during the autopsy, indicating that the body had been in one position for some time.
Examples
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After death, hypostasis causes the skin to appear darker in the areas where blood has pooled.
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Hypostasis can often be observed as a sign of the postmortem process, with specific areas of the body showing significant discoloration.
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Lividity and hypostasis follow immediately.
Synonyms
A dark color of the skin after death caused by blood collecting in the lower body
Bluish-purple color of the skin caused by blood pooling under the skin after death or injury
Compounds
- Formal
The union of God's nature and human nature in the one person of Jesus Christ
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Hypostasis comes from the Greek parts hypo- 'under' and stasis 'standing', so think of something 'standing' or settling below, like the English word 'stand'. In medicine it names the blood that settles after death and makes dark patches where the blood has 'stood'.