Mummification (dry gangrene of the body) occurs in all of the following conditions EXCEPT:

• A Hot dry desert conditions with good ventilation
• B Body stored in a well-heated room with circulating warm air
• C Small infants or foetuses with a high surface-area-to-volume ratio
• D Body buried in damp, anaerobic soil with access to groundwater ✓

Explanation

Mummification requires desiccation — hot, dry, well-ventilated environments that rapidly dehydrate the body preventing putrefaction; the body shrivels, becomes hard, leathery, and brownish. Damp, anaerobic soil conditions actually favour adipocere formation (saponification) rather than mummification because moisture and anaerobic bacteria are present. Hot rooms with circulating dry air, desert conditions, and small infants (who dehydrate faster due to higher surface:volume ratio) all support mummification.

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

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.