Question:medium
Fine leathery froth that emanates from the nostrils on chest compression is diagnostic of death due to?
Fine leathery froth that emanates from the nostrils on chest compression is diagnostic of death due to?
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Think about the airway sign forensic doctors look for after a body is pulled from water.
Updated On: Jul 8, 2026
- Drowning
- Hanging
- Morphine poisoning
- Strangulation
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Picture what happens in the airway during drowning.
As a person struggles under water, water, air, and the natural surfactant lining the lungs get whipped together. This creates a stable, fine froth that packs the trachea and bronchi, unlike ordinary watery fluid.
Step 2: See why pressing the chest matters.
At autopsy, pressing on the chest forces this trapped froth upward and out through the nostrils and mouth. It appears fine, white or pinkish, and leathery, meaning it holds its shape rather than collapsing like ordinary foam. This finding is specific enough to be used as proof of death by drowning.
Step 3: Compare with the other causes of death listed.
Hanging kills through pressure on the neck vessels and airway from the body's own weight on a ligature, leaving a mark and internal neck injury, not nasal froth. Morphine poisoning slows breathing and narrows the pupils, and while fluid can collect in the lungs, that fluid is thin and watery rather than a firm, leathery froth. Strangulation involves external pressure on the neck by hand or ligature, again showing neck signs and facial congestion, not this froth.
Step 4: Conclude.
Only drowning produces this specific fine, leathery, mushroom like froth from the nostrils on chest compression.
\[ \boxed{\text{Drowning}} \]
As a person struggles under water, water, air, and the natural surfactant lining the lungs get whipped together. This creates a stable, fine froth that packs the trachea and bronchi, unlike ordinary watery fluid.
Step 2: See why pressing the chest matters.
At autopsy, pressing on the chest forces this trapped froth upward and out through the nostrils and mouth. It appears fine, white or pinkish, and leathery, meaning it holds its shape rather than collapsing like ordinary foam. This finding is specific enough to be used as proof of death by drowning.
Step 3: Compare with the other causes of death listed.
Hanging kills through pressure on the neck vessels and airway from the body's own weight on a ligature, leaving a mark and internal neck injury, not nasal froth. Morphine poisoning slows breathing and narrows the pupils, and while fluid can collect in the lungs, that fluid is thin and watery rather than a firm, leathery froth. Strangulation involves external pressure on the neck by hand or ligature, again showing neck signs and facial congestion, not this froth.
Step 4: Conclude.
Only drowning produces this specific fine, leathery, mushroom like froth from the nostrils on chest compression.
\[ \boxed{\text{Drowning}} \]
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