Injuries: practice question

A Forensic Medicine question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

Try it

Forensic Medicine · Injuries

Sample item

A bruise on a child's arm shows a yellowish colour at its periphery. Which statement about ageing bruises is most accurate?

AA red-blue bruise is always older than a green oneBColour allows the bruise to be dated exactlyCYellow colour indicates the bruise is less than a few hours oldDYellow colour from bilirubin suggests the bruise is several days old, but ageing by colour alone is unreliable

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

D. Yellow colour from bilirubin suggests the bruise is several days old, but ageing by colour alone is unreliable

Haemoglobin is broken down through biliverdin (green) and bilirubin (yellow). A yellow tinge generally appears several days after injury, but bruise colour varies with depth, site, age and skin tone, so dating by colour alone is imprecise and should be avoided in court.

Option by option

A. A red-blue bruise is always older than a green one
Red-blue colour is the earliest and appears before green.
B. Colour allows the bruise to be dated exactly
Exact dating is not possible by colour alone.
C. Yellow colour indicates the bruise is less than a few hours old
Fresh bruises are red-blue, not yellow.
D. Yellow colour from bilirubin suggests the bruise is several days old, but ageing by colour alone is unreliable (correct)
Correct. Bilirubin appears late, but colour is only a rough guide.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

Questions about this Forensic Medicine question

What is the answer to this Forensic Medicine question?

The best answer is D, Yellow colour from bilirubin suggests the bruise is several days old, but ageing by colour alone is unreliable. Haemoglobin is broken down through biliverdin (green) and bilirubin (yellow).

Why is "A red-blue bruise is always older than a green one" not the answer?

Red-blue colour is the earliest and appears before green.

Why is "Colour allows the bruise to be dated exactly" not the answer?

Exact dating is not possible by colour alone.

Why is "Yellow colour indicates the bruise is less than a few hours old" not the answer?

Fresh bruises are red-blue, not yellow.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Injuries in Forensic Medicine. A yellow tinge generally appears several days after injury, but bruise colour varies with depth, site, age and skin tone, so dating by colour alone is imprecise and should be avoided in court.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Injuries?

Learn postmortem changes with their timelines, and toxicology as poison, sign, test and antidote. Then use the flashcards and the other Forensic Medicine questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.