Obturation, aspiration, and inhalation in case of mechanical asphyxia

This paper aims at updating terminology employed for the characteristic of selected forms of mechanical asphyxia. The medical terms "obturation", "aspiration", and "inhalation" are not infrequently used by forensic medical experts and pathological anatomists engaged in diagnostics of mechanical asphyxia, elucidation of the mechanism of the accompanying injury and causes underlying its fatal outcome. It is argued that the use of these terms for the purpose is sometimes either unjustified or incorrect or both. To begin with, they have different meanings in different situations. Second, the mechanism of death from mechanical asphyxia is variable and associated with specific morphological features that are directly dependent not only on the route by which a foreign body enters the respiratory tract but also on its size, weight, structure, shape, properties, and aggregated state. Third, it is necessary to differentiate between inhalation of a toxicant in case of poisoning and inhalation of a gaseous substance leading to mechanical asphyxia.