STRANGULATION. The mechanical con striction of the neck so as to prevent the passage of air and to suspend respiration. and conse quently life. Strangulation may he produced by throttling or hanging. Death is sudden when the obstruction to respiration is complete. but other wise it is gradual in its onset. In hanging, espe cially in judicial executions where a long drop is used, death is probably due to fracture of the cervical vertebras, with compression of the me dulla oblongata, the seat of the nerve centre controlling respiration. When breathing has been interrupted for only a short time, and there is no mechanical obstacle to respiration, nor injury to tire medulla, life may sometimes be restored by proper measures, such as artificial respiration, stimulant applications, and a plenti ful supply of fresh air. To relieve cerebral con gestion it is advantageous to abstract blood, and if this is replaced with normal saline solution by transfusion (q.v.) into the veins, the addi
tional advantage will he gained of diluting the carbon dioxide in the blood.
When death has taken place by hanging, proofs of this, concerning which medieo-legal questions may arise, depend upon the position of the body when found, the presence of marks upon the neck, and of the signs of asphyxia in the internal organs, and the absence of any other possible cause of death. The mark on the neck is gen catty a hard, dry. yellowish, horny furrow run ning obliquely. The face is turgid, with blood stained froth about the nostrils and lips; the tongue is swollen and protruding. The right side of the heart and the right lung are engorged with venous blood, while the left side is empty. See