Question:medium
Chocolate brown postmortem staining is seen in?
Chocolate brown postmortem staining is seen in?
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Chocolate brown means methaemoglobin from an oxidising agent.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- KCl poisoning
- Opium poisoning
- H2S poisoning
- Cyanide poisoning
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Postmortem lividity colour mirrors the dominant haemoglobin derivative in the blood, so a specific hue points to a specific poison.
Step 2: A chocolate brown tint signals methaemoglobin. Oxidising poisons that convert haemoglobin to methaemoglobin, such as potassium chlorate, leave this brown stain, making the KCl option the match for chocolate brown lividity.
Step 3: Each other agent paints a different colour. Cyanide leaves a cherry red hypostasis, hydrogen sulphide turns it greenish from sulphaemoglobin, and opium has no signature brown stain.
Step 4: Mapping colour to chemistry, the brown shade equals methaemoglobinaemia from the oxidising poison listed.
\[\boxed{\text{KCl poisoning (chocolate brown / methaemoglobin)}}\]
Step 2: A chocolate brown tint signals methaemoglobin. Oxidising poisons that convert haemoglobin to methaemoglobin, such as potassium chlorate, leave this brown stain, making the KCl option the match for chocolate brown lividity.
Step 3: Each other agent paints a different colour. Cyanide leaves a cherry red hypostasis, hydrogen sulphide turns it greenish from sulphaemoglobin, and opium has no signature brown stain.
Step 4: Mapping colour to chemistry, the brown shade equals methaemoglobinaemia from the oxidising poison listed.
\[\boxed{\text{KCl poisoning (chocolate brown / methaemoglobin)}}\]
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