Nysten's rule (1811) describes the sequential onset of

rigor mortis Rigor mortis (Latin: ''rigor'' "stiffness", and ''mortis'' "of death"), or postmortem rigidity, is the third stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chem ...

in the various

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are Organ (biology), organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other ...

groups. The basic sequence of the solidifying body begins from the head down the body, in the order: * Involuntary muscle first: Heart * Upper eyelids * Neck * Jaw * Face * Upper extremities * Muscles of the trunk * Lower extremities The rule does not occur in all cases, as described. In particular, it depends on what muscle groups are even claimed before the death - there enters rigor mortis then first one.Madea/ Dettmeyer Basiswissen Rechtsmedizin, Springerverlag 2007, S. 73 It owes its name to the French

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

Pierre-Hubert Nysten Pierre-Hubert Nysten (30 October 1771 – 3 March 1818) was a French physiologist and pediatrician who was a native of Liège. Biography He studied medicine in Paris, and eventually became a professor at the École de Médecine in Paris. Sh ...

(1771–1818).

References

{{Reflist
Jason Payne-James, Anthony, Forensic Medicine: Clinical and Pathological Aspects
Signs of death Forensic pathology