Adipocere

Adipocere (Lat. adeps, 'fat,' and cera, 'wax'), a substance resembling a mixture of fat and wax, and resulting from the decomposition of animal bodies in moist places or under water. Human bodies have been found, on disinterment, reduced to this state. Lean beef kept under running water for three weeks was found reduced to a fatty substance. A piece of a liver that has suffered what is called fatty degeneration, if immersed for some time in water, is said to become exactly like adipocere.