44 THE LESIONS IX CERTAIN FORMS OF DEATH FROM VIOLENCE. 



small patches of emphysema near the surface of the lungs. Sometimes, 

 especially in infants, small ecchymoses are found in the costal and pul- 

 monary pleura. 



The Heart usually presents its right cavities full of blood, its left 

 cavities empty ; but to this there are frequent exceptions. 



The Abdominal Viscera are usually congested. 



DEATH FROM STRANGULATION-HANGING. 



Strangulation is effected by the weight of the body in hanging, by 

 pressure on the neck with the hands or by some other object, or by con- 

 striction of the neck with a cord or ligature of some kind. Death usually 

 occurs by asphyxia, or by asphyxia combined with the effect of the cut- 

 ting-off of the blood supply to the brain by pressure on the large vessels 

 of the neck. In some cases of hanging, death ensues as a result of frac- 

 ture or dislocation of the cervical vertebrae. 



EXTERNAL INSPECTION. 



The face may be livid and swollen, the eyes prominent, the lips 

 swollen, and the tongue protruded. These appearances are, however, 

 often absent. Erection of the penis, ejaculation of semen, and evacu- 

 ation of faeces and urine are frequently observed. 



In many cases marks are left upon the neck by the objects which have 

 directly produced the strangulation. In cases of hanging, the mark 

 about the neck varies considerably in position, direction, and general 

 characters, depending upon the kind of ligature employed, the time of 

 suspension, period after death at which the observation is made, etc. 

 The most common mark left by a cord about the neck is a dry, dense, 

 brownish furrow, whose breadth corresponds but in a very general way 

 with the diameter of the cord. In some cases, according to Tidy and 

 others, there may be no mark at all if the hanging be quickly accom- 

 plished with a soft ligature and the body cut down immediately after 

 death. There may be abrasions and ecchymoses of the skin at the seat 

 of ligature. 



In cases of strangulation by the fingers the mark on the neck may 

 correspond in a general way to the shape of the fingers. 



The application of the same forces immediately after death may pro- 

 duce the same marks as when death is induced by them. 



INTERNAL EXAMINATION. 



The Brain and its membranes may be congested, or there may be ex- 

 travasation of blood, or there may be no abnormal appearances. 



The Neck. In some cases there is effusion of blood beneath the liga- 

 ture, rupture of the cervical muscles, fracture of the os hyoides and car- 

 tilages of the larynx, fracture and dislocation of the cervical vertebrae, 



