At autopsy, a stab wound over the chest shows gaping edges with marked retraction, reddened margins, and microscopy reveals early leucocytic infiltration and fibrin deposition along the track. These features indicate that the wound was:
- A Inflicted immediately before or at the time of death ✓
- B Inflicted after death
- C An artefact produced during handling of the corpse
- D Inflicted several days before death and already healing
Correct answer: A. Inflicted immediately before or at the time of death
Explanation
Vital reaction proves the wound was inflicted while the circulation was still active: gaping and retraction reflect living elastic skin recoil, and congestion with leucocytic infiltration and fibrin requires functioning blood flow. B strictly postmortem wound shows pale, non-gaping edges, no inflammatory response and minimal bleeding. Healing of several days' duration would show granulation tissue, epithelial regeneration and fibrosis, none of which are described here, so option D does not fit the acute findings.
Reference: Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.