A fatty substance of waxy consistency into which dead animal tissues (as those of a corpse) are sometimes converted when kept from the air under certain favoring conditions of temperature. SYN: grave wax, lipocere. [adipo- + L. cera, wax]
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ad·i·po·cere 'ad-ə-pə-.si(ə)r n a waxy or unctuous brownish substance consisting chiefly of fatty acids and calcium soaps produced by chemical changes affecting dead body fat and muscle long buried or immersed in moisture
ad·i·poc·er·ous .ad-ə-'päs-(ə-)rəs, -pə-'sir-əs adj
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n.
a waxlike substance, consisting mainly of fatty acids, into which the soft tissues of the body can be converted after death. This usually occurs when the body is buried in damp earth or is submerged in water. Adipocere delays post-mortem decomposition and is a spontaneous form of preservation without mummification.
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ad·i·po·cere (adґĭ-po-sēr″) [adipo- + cera] a peculiar waxy substance formed during the decomposition of animal bodies, and seen especially in human bodies buried in moist places; it consists principally of insoluble salts of fatty acids.Medical dictionary. 2011.