Ligature Strangulation
Definition
Compression by a cord, belt, wire, or similar item looped around the neck. The ligature mark shows the width and pattern of the material and runs roughly horizontally (unlike a hanging furrow, which angles upward).
- Mechanism
- Cord, belt, or wire looped around the neck
- Mark orientation
- Roughly horizontal
- Contrast
- Hanging furrow angles upward
- Mark detail
- Reflects width and pattern of the material used
Common questions
How can the ligature mark help identify the object used?+
The width, texture, and any pattern impressed into the skin, such as a braided cord's weave or a belt's edge, can be compared against a suspected object to support or exclude it as the instrument used, similar to a tool-mark comparison.
Why is the horizontal orientation significant for distinguishing this from suicide by hanging?+
A roughly horizontal mark is consistent with an external assailant applying even pressure around the neck, whereas suicidal hanging typically produces an oblique, upward-angled mark from the body's own weight pulling against a fixed suspension point, so orientation is a key discriminator, though not conclusive alone.
Related terms
- Carotid Artery Dissection
- A tear in the inner wall of the carotid artery caused by stretching or compression during strangulation. Can produce stroke hours to...
- Manual Strangulation
- Compression of the neck by one or both hands. The most common type in intimate-partner violence. Creates asymmetric, fingertip-sized contusions and may...
- Petechiae
- Pinpoint haemorrhages above the level of venous compression. They develop when venous outflow is blocked while arterial inflow continues, raising capillary pressure...
- Positional (Postural) Strangulation
- Compression of the neck caused by the weight of the body or an external object constraining the airway or neck vessels without...
- Strangulation Documentation Form
- A structured clinical tool, developed originally by the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, that systematically prompts recording of mechanism, symptoms, and physical...