Mechanical asphyxiation

What is asphyxia. Types and their descriptions. Under the concept of mechanical asphyxia in forensic medicine means a large oxygen starvation, which occurs in connection with the lack of air (full or partial) airflow into the lungs and respiratory tract due to various mechanical obstacles. There are several varieties of asphyxia. Classification depends on the nature of the mechanical factor (factors), which creates an obstacle to normal breathing, as well as from several other values.

Below are the types and causes of asphyxiation. Asphyxia from strangulation in the neck - strangulation (hinge, hanging, removal with the help of hands). As a result of pressure on the abdomen and chest - compression. Mechanical asphyxia from covering the mouth and nose holes with various objects - obstructive asphyxia. There is also asphyxiation from closing the way of breathing with various food and blood (there is no exact definition).

In most cases, mechanical asphyxia proceeds rapidly, mostly ending with the death of a person (if no measures have been taken) for about 6-8 minutes. In people with various diseases associated with cardiac activity, death may occur within 2-3 minutes.

In the case of a hinge, the neck is subjected to compression under the action of the hands of another person, their own hands (such cases are rare), or under the influence of some mechanism (also a rare case, most often used in various horror films). With such removal, in most cases there are fractures of the cartilage of the larynx, as well as the hyoid bone. There is an outflow of blood into the brain and a cyanosis of the face is observed.

Mechanical asphyxiation in the form of handcuffs is nothing more than murder. In this case, various bruises and abrasions are found on the neck of the victim, as in the previous case, fractures of the hyoid bone and laryngeal cartilage, hemorrhage in the neck tissue, in addition, in some cases, there are abrasions and stains on the body due to the struggle.

The next kind - from the compression of the abdomen or chest, mechanical asphyxia occurs due to a sharp cessation (increasing difficulty) of the movement of the respiratory tract of the chest. The reason for this can serve as such situations as a collapse in the mine, sand quarry, crowd crowd. A sign of this kind of asphyxia is a sharp cyanosis of the face, multiple bruises on the head, puffiness of the body. In the event that a large mass object was acting on the chest, fractures of various bones can be observed.

Proof of death due to asphyxiation associated with the obstruction of the airways by various objects is their detection at autopsy. The level of penetration of foreign bodies depends on their size. For example, such small bodies as sand, liquids, penetrate almost all parts of the chest.

Asphyxia can also occur under the influence of another person. In this case, if the victim has not had any resistance in the murder, then this kind is very difficult to distinguish from others and often in the investigation of such cases, murders are taken for accidents or suicide. If the murder was committed with the help of soft cloth or hands, then on the body of the deceased there may remain specific invoices, according to which the forensic medical examination makes the appropriate conclusions. But, again, there are cases when it is impossible to establish precisely the specific cause of asphyxiation. When investigating the bodies of the deceased, investigators study all the details that may indicate the nature, kind of asphyxiation. This is done in order to maximally correctly determine to which all the same kind of refer it.