American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) Practice Exam

The color that indicates a contusion in the recent phase is purple. When a bruise first occurs, there is bleeding under the skin, leading to a localized collection of blood (hematoma) that is initially visible as a prominent dark red or purple mark. The purple coloration arises from the deoxygenated blood pooling in the tissue, which gives it that characteristic color associated with a fresh contusion.

As the bruise heals over time, the body metabolizes the hemoglobin from the red blood cells, resulting in changes to the bruise's color—transitioning from purple to blue and then eventually to green and yellow as the healing progresses. Each of these colors corresponds with a different stage in the healing process, indicating how recent the injury is. Thus, purple is clearly indicative of a fresh or recent contusion, while the other colors represent older, healing bruises.