Cause of death is defined as the immediate reason for a person's death (such as heart attack, kidney failure).

• A. Cause of death
• B. Decomposition
• C. Chain of Custody
• D. Cyanosis

Answer: (A)

In death investigation terminology, the cause of death is the disease or injury that directly initiated the lethal sequence—the immediate reason death occurred. Saying someone died of a heart attack or kidney failure identifies the direct event that ended life, which is why those examples fit as the cause of death. Often reports separate this from underlying causes, which are the longer-term conditions that set the stage for the death.

Decomposition refers to postmortem changes after death, not what caused the death itself. Chain of Custody deals with who has possession and control of the body and evidence, a legal process rather than a medical reason for death. Cyanosis is a visible sign indicating lack of oxygen, not the reason death occurred.

So the statement matches the concept of the cause of death: the immediate reason death happened.