Asphyxia

asphyxia, 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.