Asphyxia

The classic signs of asphyxia are:

• Congestion of the face, because the blood has been trapped in the face, possibly because of strangulation (i.e., the veins in the neck have been compressed)
• Oedema of the face
• A blue tinge to the skin; this is because the blood hasn't been oxygenated. (Because there is no oxygen to oxygenate it with.)
• Petechial haemorrhages in the skin, particularly around the eyes and behind the ears. These look like little red spots, and are due to raised blood pressure.

As*phyx"i*a (#), As*phyx"y (#), n. [NL. asphyxia, fr. Gr. ; priv. + to throb, beat.] Med.

Apparent death, or suspended animation; the condition which results from interruption of respiration, as in suffocation or drowning, or the inhalation of irrespirable gases.

© Webster 1913.