Adipocere
a waxy substance produced by the decomposition of dead animal bodies in moist burial places or under water.
Historical Examples
There was not a trace of adipocere—the peculiar waxy soap that forms in bodies that decay in water or in a damp situation.
The Vanishing Man R. Austin Freeman
The brain was considerable in quantity, but changed to a state of adipocere resembling ointment of a dark brown hue.
Norfolk Annals Charles Mackie
“Then you’ll be buried in Kensal Green and turn into adipocere with the others,” said Torpenhow.
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition Rudyard Kipling
The autopsy on the exhumed body of Perrotte Mace was inconclusive, owing to the condition of adipocere.
She Stands Accused Victor MacClure
He is the first to observe and describe that curious product of the decomposition of flesh known to modern chemists as adipocere.
Library Of The World’s Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol 6 Various
noun
a waxlike fatty substance formed during the decomposition of corpses Nontechnical name grave-wax
adipocere ad·i·po·cere (ād’ə-pō-sēr’)
n.
A brown, fatty, waxlike substance that forms on dead animal tissue in response to moisture. Also called lipocere.
ad’i·po·cer’a·tous (-sěr’ə-təs) adj.
Read Also:
- Adipocerite
.
- Adipocyte
. noun a fat cell that accumulates and stores fats adipocyte ad·i·po·cyte (ād’ə-pō-sīt’) n. See fat cell.
- Adipogenesis
adipogenesis adipogenesis ad·i·po·gen·e·sis (ād’ə-pō-jěn’ĭ-sĭs) n. See lipogenesis. ad’i·po·gen’ic or ad’i·pog’e·nous (-pŏj’ə-nəs) adj.
- Adipoid
adipoid adipoid ad·i·poid (ād’ə-poid’) adj. Lipoid.
- Adipokinetic
adipokinetic adipokinetic ad·i·po·ki·net·ic (ād’ə-pō-kĭ-nět’ĭk, -kī-) adj. Of or relating to an agent that mobilizes stored lipids.