[RS]

"The reflex is the result of a complete severing of the nerve in question"

Amazing that both would have hit the exact spot to sever the correct nerve and that severing a nerve causes clenching - one would suppose then death would result in the same type of "clenching" that severing would, since the nerve no longer can carry impulses, and that the muscles causing the clenching would not relax in death.

[Swordmaker]

Amazing that both would have hit the exact spot to sever the correct nerve and that severing a nerve causes clenching - one would suppose then death would result in the same type of "clenching" that severing would, since the nerve no longer can carry impulses, and that the muscles causing the clenching would not relax in death.

There is a natural space between he bones of the wrist (the metacarpals) called the Space of Destot... it is one of only two spaces where a sizeable nail can be driven through the wrist without breaking a bone. The theory says the nail strikes or severes the median nerve, causing the spasm of the thumb toward the palm.