Question:
Match the poison with its characteristic feature. Which of the following is correctly matched?
Match the poison with its characteristic feature. Which of the following is correctly matched?
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The most iconic odour in toxicology - bitter almonds.
Updated On: Jun 25, 2026
- Cyanide - bitter almond smell
- Carbon monoxide - cherry red discolouration
- Phosphorus - garlic odour
- Organophosphate - excessive secretions
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understand the question. Each option pairs a poison with a classic forensic/toxicological sign. All four pairings listed are, in fact, individually correct, but the conventionally "circled"/single-best answer in this recall is the cyanide pairing, which is the most iconic and frequently tested association.
Step 2: Verify cyanide. Cyanide poisoning classically produces a bitter almond odour on the breath/at autopsy (detectable by roughly 40-60% of people genetically). It also causes histotoxic hypoxia with bright red venous blood.
Step 3: Verify the others (all true). Carbon monoxide binds haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin, giving cherry-red skin/lividity. Phosphorus poisoning (and arsenic, thallium) classically gives a garlicky odour; phosphorus also causes "smoking stool" and luminescence. Organophosphate poisoning produces a cholinergic crisis with marked secretions (SLUDGE/DUMBELS).
Step 4: Select the answer. As the single most characteristic and exam-favoured match, Cyanide - bitter almond smell is the correct/circled answer.
Step 2: Verify cyanide. Cyanide poisoning classically produces a bitter almond odour on the breath/at autopsy (detectable by roughly 40-60% of people genetically). It also causes histotoxic hypoxia with bright red venous blood.
Step 3: Verify the others (all true). Carbon monoxide binds haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin, giving cherry-red skin/lividity. Phosphorus poisoning (and arsenic, thallium) classically gives a garlicky odour; phosphorus also causes "smoking stool" and luminescence. Organophosphate poisoning produces a cholinergic crisis with marked secretions (SLUDGE/DUMBELS).
Step 4: Select the answer. As the single most characteristic and exam-favoured match, Cyanide - bitter almond smell is the correct/circled answer.
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