Complete Hanging
Definition
Hanging in which the body hangs freely with no supporting surface contact. The entire body weight acts through the ligature on the neck.
- Body contact
- None, body suspended freely
- Force on neck
- Full body weight through ligature
- Contrast
- Opposite of partial hanging
- Mechanism
- Vascular and airway occlusion by ligature pressure
Common questions
Does complete hanging always cause a fracture of the hyoid bone or neck?+
No. Fractures of the hyoid or thyroid cartilage are inconsistent findings even in complete hanging, and their absence does not exclude hanging as the cause of death. Presence or absence depends more on ossification, ligature position and force than on whether the body was fully suspended.
How does an examiner tell complete hanging apart from partial hanging at autopsy?+
The distinction rests on scene findings, not autopsy alone: whether the feet or body were touching the ground or another surface at the time of suspension. Partial hanging can still be fatal because full body weight is not required to occlude the neck vessels, so the ligature mark pattern is examined alongside scene documentation rather than used in isolation.
Related terms
- Hyoid Bone Fracture
- Fracture of the U-shaped floating hyoid bone at the tongue base; uncommon in hanging (under 10%), more common in strangulation, especially in...
- Incomplete Hanging
- Hanging in which part of the body (feet, knees, buttocks) remains in contact with a surface. Biomechanically equivalent to complete hanging because...
- Ligature Groove (Hanging)
- The pressure mark left by a ligature on the neck in hanging: pale, parchment-like, oblique, ascending, open at the nape of the...
- Ligature Groove (Strangulation)
- The mark left by a ligature applied with extrinsic force in strangulation: horizontal, complete (encircling the neck), below or at the thyroid...
- NAME
- National Association of Medical Examiners (US); the professional body that publishes standards for medico-legal autopsy, manner-of-death certification, and forensic pathology training.
- Salivary Drool Track
- A dried streak of saliva running from the corner of the mouth downward and toward the suspension point, seen in hanging and...
- Tardieu Spots
- Minute petechial haemorrhages on the surface of visceral organs, pleura, and conjunctivae, produced by venous obstruction and raised intrathoracic pressure in asphyxia....