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Movies often desensitize us to what truly occurs to our bodies after death. From the fictional undead rising minutes after death to the spectral entities associated with it, it’s easy to get caught up in the lore. However, in reality, death is a complex, prolonged process. When your heart ceases to beat, brain activity halts as well. Hence, some experts suggest that individuals experience death twice at the end. Subsequently, blood, lacking a destination, accumulates in specific body areas, causing skin discoloration. Muscles stiffen during “rigor mortis,” and the body cools with the onset of “algor mortis.” In Latin, “mortis” signifies “of death,” while preceding terms describe physiological changes in a deceased body, such as “rigor” for “stiffness” and “algor” for “coldness”.
Interestingly, another phenomenon occurs after death — the possibility of postmortem flatulence, which can emit an unpleasant odor.
Farting after death: Why it happens
Postmortem flatulence is linked to the decomposition process upon death. The same gut microbiota that maintained your health while alive begins to digest your body internally. As Dr. Judy Melinek, forensic pathologist and co-author of “Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner,” explains (via Men’s Health), bacteria, unchecked by an immune system, invade the bloodstream and consume tissues, releasing malodorous gases. The accumulated gas can exit through orifices — notably the mouth and rear — producing an offensive smell, often called the smell of death.
“The smell resembles flatulence or vomit mixed with decomposition,” according to Dr. Melinek. Not all decomposition-associated gases are foul-smelling, like hexanal and butanol. Decomposition gases include hydrogen sulfide, methane, cadaverine, putrescine, ammonia, dimethyl disulfide, and trisulfide. However, gases are not the sole contributors to the offensive odor of death.
Other bowel-related phenomena associated with death
In the final moments before death, loss of bladder and bowel control is not uncommon. This natural process results from the body’s weakening and muscles losing efficiency. Immediately post-death, muscle relaxation may lead to urination and defecation. When sphincters, which retain urine and feces, cease functioning, some release is expected. However, as Jeff Jorgenson, director of Seattle-based eco-friendly funeral home Elemental Cremation and Burial, explains (via Women’s Health), the volume of excrement is not substantial, as muscles and associated bowel systems lack the functionality to expel everything.
Despite the discomfort surrounding death discussions, understanding the body’s transition and recognizing the role of microorganisms, both in life and in death, underscores the complexity of human biology.
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