Which of the following is an antemortem extravascular blood discoloration?

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The correct choice is a hematoma, which is an antemortem extravascular blood discoloration that occurs due to the accumulation of blood outside of blood vessels, usually following trauma. This condition results from bleeding into the tissues and can appear as a bruise, reflecting the various stages of blood degradation as it is broken down by the body’s immune system. A hematoma typically presents as a discolored area on the skin that can be purple, blue, or greenish, depending on the age of the bruise, reaffirming that it occurs while the individual is still alive.

In contrast, postmortem lividity refers to the settling of blood in the lower parts of the body due to gravity after death, leading to a specific discoloration of the skin, but it happens after the individual has passed away. Rigor mortis and algor mortis are both postmortem conditions involving the stiffening of muscles and the cooling of the body, respectively. These processes are indicative of the physiological changes that occur after death and do not pertain to extravascular discoloration that takes place while the individual is alive.

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