PUTREFACTION • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Putrefaction

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noun

Putrefaction n.

The act or the process of putrefying; the offensive decay of albuminous or other matter. Note: Putrefaction is a complex phenomenon involving a multiplicity of chemical reactions, always accompanied by, and without doubt caused by, bacteria and vibriones; hence, putrefaction is a form of fermentation, and is sometimes called putrefaction fermentative. Putrefaction is not possible under conditions that preclude the development of living organisms. Many of the products of putrefaction are powerful poisons, and are called cadaveric poisons, or ptomaïnes.

The condition of being putrefied; also, that which putrefied. "Putrefaction's breath."

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Etymology of 'Putrefaction'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Putrefaction" Quotes from Famous Books

... malady called the mal de la terre; otherwise scurvy, as I have since heard from learned men. There were produced, in the mouths of those who had it, great pieces of superfluous and drivelling flesh (causing extensive putrefaction), which got the upper hand to such an extent that scarcely anything but liquid could be taken. Their teeth became very loose, and could be pulled out with the fingers without its causing them pain. The superfluous flesh was often cut out, which caused them to eject much blood ...

— Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, Vol. 2 • Samuel de Champlain

... when they appear, face to face with such abundant nourishment. When they emerge from the envelope the young larvae find themselves in the presence of this stored food, which has been softened by putrefaction and rendered more easy of digestion. If the treasure has not fallen on a spot easy to dig, the Necrophorus quickly recognise the fact, and do not waste time in useless labour. Endowed with considerable strength relatively to their size, three or four of them creep beneath the prey, and ...

— The Industries of Animals • Frederic Houssay

... pumped. The dead body, lying in this receptacle for two hours, absorbs certain parts of the gas which enters the pores and touches those parts of the dead body not reached by the injected fluid. By this process no part of the body is subject to putrefaction and the muscles all retain their rigidity, so that one hundred years after burial the features are ...

— Life in a Thousand Worlds • William Shuler Harris

... that saltpetre hardens meat, is entirely erroneous:—it tends greatly to prevent putrefaction, but will not make it hard; neither will laying in brine five or six weeks in cold weather, have that effect, but remaining in salt too long, will certainly draw off the juices, and harden it. Bacon should be boiled in a large quantity of water, and ...

— The Virginia Housewife • Mary Randolph

... (this is a mistake, for they will eat greens when boiled); its stomach digests bones; it uses the tops of grass as a vomit; is fond of rolling in carrion; voids its excrements on a stone; its dung (the album graecum) is one of the greatest encouragers of putrefaction; it laps up its drink with its tongue; makes water side-ways, by lifting up one of its hind-legs; is most diuretic in the company of a strange dog, and very apt to repeat it where another dog has done the same: Odorat anum alterius, ...

— Anecdotes of Dogs • Edward Jesse

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