There was an error during execution of the Back-End CGI program. With its relatively small diameter, lack of bony shielding, and close association of the airway, spinal cord, and major vessels, the human neck is uniquely vulnerable to life-threatening compression injuries. Throughout recorded history, assailants and the penal systems that have received them have used various methods of strangulation to injure or kill. Hangings can be classified as complete or incomplete. When the whole body is suspended and does not touch the floor or platform at the end of the drop, the hanging is said to be complete.
Incomplete hangings imply that some part of the body is touching the ground.
The pathophysiology of strangulation injuries is controversial, except for classical judicial hangings. In judicial hangings, the drop is at least as long as the height of the victim and the hanging is complete. Interestingly, none of the proposed mechanisms emphasize airway compromise alone. In fact, although delayed mechanical airway compromise occurs and often complicates patient management, it appears to play a minimal role in the immediate death of successful strangulation victims. Many classical jujitsu and aikido strangle holds are applied to the vascular structures of the neck and not the trachea.