4.2 Mechanism of Death in Asphyxia

The physiology's sequence: the oxygen's lack → the unconsciousness (the minutes' window) → the brain's irreversible damage → the death. The neck-compression's special mechanism (theexam's duo): the vessels' occlusion (the carotids — the quick unconsciousness) vs the airway's closure (the slower suffocation) + the vagal inhibition (the reflex's sudden death — the "one-blow" hanging lore). The autopsy's signs (the classic general signs): the cyanosis; the petechiae (the conjunctival haemorrhages — the small red spots); the congestion-and-oedema; the fluidity of blood — the signs' caution (the non-specificity: the asphyxia's signs in the other deaths too — the diagnosis by the type's specific signs (the furrow, the grip-marks) + the circumstances).