Asphyxia: hanging, strangulation, drowning
Forensic Medicine and Toxicology · MBBS
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Study notes
A hanged body shows an inverted-V ligature mark above the thyroid — suicide. Hanging's mark (oblique, inverted-V, above thyroid cartilage, parchment-like) differs from ligature strangulation (horizontal, complete, lower — homicidal; fingernail abrasions, hyoid fracture common). Judicial hanging breaks C2 (hangman's fracture); suicidal usually asphyxiates. Dribbling saliva (opposite the knot) proves antemortem. The ligature's angle is the verdict — oblique whispers suicide, horizontal shouts homicide.
Related topics
- Legal procedures: inquest, courts, medical evidence
- Medical jurisprudence: consent, negligence, medical records
- Thanatology: death — types, signs, postmortem changes
- Autopsy: procedure, exhumation, artifacts
- Injuries: mechanical injuries, weapons, regional injuries
- Thermal injuries: burns, electrocution, lightning