Byard, R.Williams, D.James, R.Gilbert, J.2007-06-022007-06-022001Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 2001; 8(4):214-2171353-1131http://hdl.handle.net/2440/32709Upper airway occlusion may be due to a variety of causes and may result from accidents, suicides or homicides. Underlying natural diseases may also predispose to lethal choking episodes. A series of nine cases is reported to illustrate a range of circumstances that resulted in fatal upper airway compromise. These included suicide from upper airway obstruction due to an impacted blanket, and accidental deaths due to inhalation ofsoil, a rock, and a video cassette sticker. One death resulted from glottic obstruction due to a mucosal cavernous haemangioma, another from an enlarged tonsil, and two deaths were precipitated by underlying organic disease in the form of dementia and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The manner of death was not clear cut in two cases where there was evidence of possible accidental death or suicide.enJournal article002001229410.1054/jcfm.2001.05242-s2.0-003569469460946Byard, R. [0000-0002-0524-5942]