ABSTRACT
The term ‘asphyxia’ comes from the Greek sphygmos (meaning absence of a pulse) and is applied to pathological unnatural states in which the body is deprived of oxygen while there is a concomitant excess of carbon dioxide, i.e. a hypoxaemia (hypoxia) and hypercarbia (hypercapnoea) together. This may result in loss of consciousness with the coma thus produced leading to death. Children die from mechanical asphyxia in many situations and exhibit similar pathological changes that one would expect in an adult dying in a similar situation.
