Which single feature best establishes that a soft tissue wound was inflicted BEFORE death rather than after death?

• A Gaping of the wound with everted edges and early inflammatory cellular response ✓
• B Presence of clean-cut margins with pointed ends
• C Absence of tissue bridging across the wound cavity
• D Oozing of thin serous fluid from the wound

Explanation

An antemortem wound gapes widely because living skin retains elastic recoil, its edges are everted, the blood clot is firm and adherent, and microscopic examination shows the vital reaction with polymorph infiltration within a few hours. A postmortem wound shows little gaping, pale non-adherent clot and no inflammatory response. Clean-cut margins merely indicate a sharp weapon and occur in both antemortem and postmortem incised wounds, so option B cannot discriminate.

Reference: The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (K S Narayan Reddy), 34th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.