What is lividity?

Prepare for the PLTW Biomedical Science Test. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question comes with hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

What is lividity?

Explanation:
Lividity is the pooling of blood after death due to gravity once circulation stops. Blood settles in the lowest parts of the body, causing a dark, purplish discoloration of the skin that can help estimate time since death and indicate whether the body has been moved. This is different from cooling of the body (algor mortis) and from the stiffening of muscles (rigor mortis), which results from biochemical changes after the body stops producing ATP. The pooling described here is the defining feature of lividity.

Lividity is the pooling of blood after death due to gravity once circulation stops. Blood settles in the lowest parts of the body, causing a dark, purplish discoloration of the skin that can help estimate time since death and indicate whether the body has been moved. This is different from cooling of the body (algor mortis) and from the stiffening of muscles (rigor mortis), which results from biochemical changes after the body stops producing ATP. The pooling described here is the defining feature of lividity.

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