Citation

Harding BE, Wolf BC. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 2008; 29(3): 235-237.

Affiliation

Office of the District 21 Medical Examiner, Fort Myers, FL 33907, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PAF.0b013e318183240c

PMID

18725778

Abstract

Nitrogen is an inert gas that is a normal constituent of the air that we breathe. It is a suffocating gas that does not support life and that can be a cause of death by the displacement of oxygen in the atmosphere. The majority of deaths associated with nitrogen have occurred in the setting of scuba diving. Although other suffocating gases have been used as a means of committing suicide, the literature contains little information about the use of nitrogen as a suicidal agent. A case of a 50-year-old man who committed suicide using a homemade suicide device and nitrogen gas is presented.

Language: en