- asphyxia
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—asphyxial, adj./as fik"see euh/, n. Pathol.the extreme condition caused by lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood, produced by interference with respiration or insufficient oxygen in the air; suffocation.[1700-10; < NL < Gk asphyxía a stopping of the pulse, equiv. to a- A-6 + sphýx(is) pulse + -ia -IA]
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Lack of exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide due to respiratory failure or disturbance, resulting in insufficient brain oxygen, which leads to unconsciousness or death.Causes include strangulation, drowning, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Breathing in food or fluid can cause obstruction of the airway and pulmonary collapse. Emergency resuscitation usually includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation.* * *
the failure or disturbance of the respiratory process brought about by the lack or insufficiency of oxygen in the brain. The unconsciousness that results sometimes leads to death.Asphyxia can be caused by injury to or obstruction of breathing passageways, as in strangulation or the aspiration of food (choking) or large quantities of fluid (near-drowning or drowning). The aspiration of food or fluid can result in a shrunken and airless state of the lungs that is known as atelectasis, a condition that aggravates hypoxemia. Asphyxia can also be caused by suffocation, the inability of sufficient oxygen to reach the brain, as in carbon monoxide poisoning.Neonatal asphyxia can result from the presence of analgesics or anesthetics in the mother's bloodstream, strangulation by the umbilical cord, maternal hypotension, or a number of other causes.Emergency resuscitation measures require rapid and efficient response. One method of reestablishing normal respiration is cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), a particularly effective way of dealing with victims of cardiac arrest and near-drowning.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
