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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the pharynx, completely closing it. The most important agent, 

 however, in this kind of death is the compression of the larger vessels 

 and the cervical portion of the vagus nerve, the upper portion of the 

 carotid being pressed against the transverse processes of the cervical 

 vertebrae before it branches off into the external and internal carotids, 

 and the inner coat of the vessel being ruptured. The jugular veins 

 are compressed at the same time, and the brain can neither receive any 

 more blood nor allow that which it contains already to flow away ; its 

 irritability is therefore extinct. The very important part which both 

 the vagus and the vessels take in causing death by hanging is clearly 

 shown through the following observations : 1. Loss of consciousness 

 following immediately the compression caused by the rope at the 

 moment when the noose is drawn tight by the weight of the body. 

 The truth of this assertion is proved by the fact that no person who 

 commits suicide by hanging ever attempts to rid himself of the rope 

 which throttles him, although he might do so easily by standing up- 

 right, as the body is not always suspended above the surface of the 

 ground. 2. The rapidity with which death ensues and the beating of 

 the heart stops. The few struggling respirations which generally 

 occur in asphyxia shortly before death have not been observed in per- 

 sons who have been hung. It is also well known how difficult it is to 

 restore such patients to life. Death by hanging is, then, complex. It 

 results from the occlusion of the respiratory tubes, from the sudden 

 interruption of the passage of blood into the brain, and possibly from 

 arrest of the circulation determined by the compression of the vagi 

 nerves." These observations of Professor Hoffmann obviously refer to 

 cases of constriction of the neck without dislocation of the vertebras, 

 and show how death should take place rather than how it does in 

 cases of the short drop. The constriction of the neck is not usually 

 so complete as he has assumed ; the carotids are not completely oblit- 

 erated, as shown by the pulse in the temporal artery, and by the grad- 

 ual increasing congestion of the head owing to the obstruction to 

 the venous return until at last the tongue is protruded out of the 

 mouth ; nor is the vagus much pressed upon, as evidenced by the 

 long continuance of the heart's beats in manv cases. It shows rather 

 a paucity of reasoning to infer immediate loss of consciousness because 

 no suicide " ever attempts to rid himself of the rope which throttles 

 him." A suicide is a very unlikely individual to change his purpose 

 during the short period which elapses between suspension and loss of 

 consciousness. 



Dr. Taylor * states that " death from hanging appears to take place 

 very rapidly, and without causing any suffering to the person. Pro- 

 fessor Tidy, also, speaks of the painless nature of death from hang- 

 ing ; while Professor Haughton, in his paper read before the Surgical 

 Society of Dublin, says that " the old system of taking a convict's life 

 * "The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence," 1865, p. 651. 



