Table. Types of mistake in stating cause of death.

Disease leading to death	Finding	Approximate time interval from onset of disease to death	Mistake type
A
Part 1
(a)	Respiratory arrest	–	Functional end status given, time interval from onset of disease to death omitted
(b)	–	–	–
(c)	–	–	–
Part 2	Coronary heart disease	–	–
B
Part 1
(a)	Emphysema	–	Incorrect sequencing of underlying cause and immediate cause of death, time intervals absent
(b)	Pneumonia	–	–
(c)	–	–	–
Part 2	Coronary heart disease	–	–
C
Part 1	–	–	–
(a)	Emphysema	5 years	Competing causes of death that have no causal connection
(b)	Coronary heart	10 years	–
	disease
Part 2	–	–	–
D
Part 1		–	–
(a)	Haemophilus influenzae pneumonia	1 week	–
(b) Emphysema	–	5 years	–
(c) –	–	–	–
Part 2	Coronary heart disease	10 years	–