Salivary Drool Track
Definition
A dried streak of saliva running from the corner of the mouth downward and toward the suspension point, seen in hanging and caused by upright posture combined with venous-pressure-induced salivation.
- Appearance
- Dried streak from mouth corner downward
- Context
- Hanging deaths
- Mechanism
- Upright posture plus venous-pressure salivation
- Evidentiary use
- Supports antemortem suspension
Common questions
Why does the direction of the drool track matter to a death investigator?+
A track running downward and toward the suspension point is consistent with the body having hung in an upright position while alive or shortly after, so its direction and angle help confirm the posture at the time it formed rather than after the body was moved.
Can a drool track be faked to stage a hanging as suicide?+
Because the track depends on venous congestion from actual suspension, a track applied artificially after death or after repositioning tends to show an inconsistent direction or a lack of the associated congestive signs, which a careful autopsy can pick up.
Does the absence of a drool track rule out hanging as the mechanism?+
No. Its absence is not conclusive, since factors like short suspension time, body position, or prior cleaning of the scene can all mean no track ever formed or that it was lost before examination.
Related terms
- Complete Hanging
- Hanging in which the body hangs freely with no supporting surface contact. The entire body weight acts through the ligature on the...
- 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.
- Tardieu Spots
- Minute petechial haemorrhages on the surface of visceral organs, pleura, and conjunctivae, produced by venous obstruction and raised intrathoracic pressure in asphyxia....