ADIPOCERE (from the

See also:

• LAT

Lat. adeps,

See also:

• FAT (O.E. fdett; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vet, Ger. Fett, &c., and may be ultimately related to Greek Irian, and =apos, and Sanskrit pivan)

fat, and cera,

See also:

• WAX

wax)  , a substance into which animal matter is sometimes converted, and so named by A . F . Fourcroy, from its resemblance to both fat and wax . When the Cimetiere des Innocens at Paris was removed in 1786-1787, great masses of this substance were found where the coffins containing the dead bodies had been placed very closely together . The whole body had been converted into this fatty matter, except the bones, which remained, but were extremely brittle . Chemically, adipocere consists principally of a mixture of fatty acids, glycerine being absent . Saponification with potash liberates a little ammonia (about 1%), and gives a mixture of the potassium salts of palmitic, margaric and oxymargaric acids . The insoluble residue consists of lime, &c., derived from the tissues . The artificial formation of adipocere has been studied; it appears that it is not formed from albuminous matter, but from the various fats in the body collecting together and undergoing decomposition .