ASPHYXIAL DEATH: MEDICO – LEGAL ISSUES

Death in common parlance signifies cessation of life. Medically it is classifiedas somatic, brain and molecular death. Extinction of life caused by cessation ofrespiration, circulation and cerebral function is known as somatic death. Brain deathoccurs when all functions of the brain come to an abrupt end. Even after death cellsremain alive for some time and thereafter they also extinguish. It is known as moleculardeath. One of the causes of death, as mentioned above is cessation of respiration causedby obstruction to the respiratory tract. The cause of such obstruction may be either theinternal conditions of the body or application of external force. The latter is resorted toend one's own life or the life of others. It is employed to mislead the crime detection. It hasit's own medico – legal importance. In this article an attempt is made to analyse themedico – legal aspects of the asphyxial death which is caused by the application ofexternal force.