What Happens To Your Body 72 Hours After Death? (Science Explained)

After death, the human body undergoes a series of predictable biological changes: algor mortis (body cooling at approximately 1.5°F per hour), livor mortis (blood pooling causing purplish discoloration that becomes fixed after 8-12 hours), and rigor mortis (muscle stiffening beginning in the face within 2-4 hours and dissipating by 48-72 hours); these changes are driven by cellular autolysis (self-digestion) and bacterial putrefaction, which produce gases causing bloating and characteristic odors, providing forensic scientists with valuable indicators to estimate the time since death.