Exsanguination

Exsanguination is the fatal process of total hypovolemia (blood loss). It is most commonly known as “bleeding to death.”

The term was widely used by Hippocrates in traditional medicine practiced in the Greco-Roman civilization and in Europe during the Middle Age. The word was possibly used to describe the lack of personality (by death or by weakness) that often occurred once a person suffered hemorrhage or massive blood loss.

The exact ideology of the term, as it is commonly used, is not clearly understood. Medical literature suggests that a person who suffered massive blood loss as being alive, but some authors may be convinced the person is not living. This ambiguity is likely the cause of its infrequent use in the medical profession today.

The word itself originated from Latin: ‘ex’ (out of) and ‘sanguis’ (blood). Therefore the word literally means ‘out of blood‘.

Exsanguination is a relatively uncommon cause of death in humans.

It might be more precise to say that exsanguination is a mode of death rather than a cause, since exsanguination itself will have an underlying cause which is listed here:

• Hematemesis – vomiting fresh blood.
• Hemoptysis – coughing up blood from the lungs.
• Hematochezia – rectal blood.
• Hematuria – blood in the urine from urinary bleeding.
• Intracranial hemorrhage – bleeding in the skull.
• Cerebral hemorrhage – a type of intracranial hemorrhage, bleeding within the brain tissue itself.
• Intracerebral hemorrhage – bleeding in the brain caused by the rupture of a blood vessel within the head. See also hemorrhagic stroke.
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) implies the presence of blood within the subarachnoid space from some pathologic process. The common medical use of the term SAH refers to the nontraumatic types of hemorrhages, usually from rupture of a berry aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation(AVM). The scope of this article is limited to these nontraumatic hemorrhages.
• Pulmonary hemorrhage
• Vaginal bleeding
• Postpartum hemorrhage
• Breakthrough bleeding
• Ovarian bleeding. This is a potentially catastrophic and not so rare complication among lean patients with polycystic ovary syndrome undergoing transvaginal oocyte retrieval.^[1]
• Upper gastrointestinal bleed
• Suicide: Exsanguination is a suicide method caused by cutting of arteries, notably: carotid, radial, ulnar, and femoral arteries.
• Trauma: Injury or trauma can cause exsanguination if bleeding is not stymied. It is the most common cause of deaths on the battlefield (though the most common cause of death from battle is infection). Non-battlefield causes can include partial or complete amputation from use of circular saws (e.g., hand-held circular saw, radial arm saw, table saw).
• Internal hemorrhage: Patients can develop catastrophic internal hemorrhages, such as from a bleeding peptic ulcer or splenic hemorrhage, which can cause exsanguination even without any external bleeding. It is a relatively common cause of unexpected, sudden death in patients who seemed previously well.
• Alcoholism: Alcoholics can also suffer from exsanguination. Thin-walled dilated veins just below the lower esophageal mucosa, called esophageal varices, may ulcerate or be torn (“Mallory-Weiss syndrome“) during the violent retching of the alcoholic leading to massive bleeding and sometimes exsanguination.
• Retroperitoneal hematoma
• Ruptured aortic aneurysm
• Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm

• Compression at the bleeding site.
• Resuscitation with fluid.
• Transfusion of red blood cells.
• Reversal of anticoagulation or antiplatelet agents with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) or platelet transfusion.

• Surgical repair of a lacerated artery or vein.

• Hypovolemia

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