Exsanguination
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{{Unreferenced|date=December 2006}}
'''Exsanguination''' (also known colloquially as '''bleeding out''') is the fatal process of total [[hypovolemia]] (blood loss). It is most commonly known as "[[bleeding]] to death". The word itself originated from Latin: ''ex'' ("out of") and ''sanguis'' ("blood").
== Slaughter of animals in meat industry ==
Exsanguination is used primarily in the meat industry, as a method of [[slaughter]]. In some places, before the incision is made, a device called a [[captive bolt pistol|captive bolt]] is used. The device is placed against the skull of the animal, and penetrates to cause tissue destruction in the [[brain]] incapacitating the animal so that the procedure may take place. This procedure may not be used everywhere, and its use is forbidden for [[halal]] and [[kosher]] slaughter.
While the animal is incapacitated, a knife is fully inserted through the skin just behind the point of the [[jaw]] and below the neck bones. From this position, the knife is drawn forward severing the [[jugular vein]], [[carotid artery]], and [[windpipe|trachea]]. Properly performed, blood should flow freely with [[death]] occurring within a few minutes.
Beyond the initial cost of purchasing a captive bolt, continued usage of the method is very inexpensive. The animal is incapacitated for the duration of the procedure, so it is one of the safest methods for the slaughterer.
Slaughter by exsanguination is mandated by Judaic [[kashrut]] and Islamic [[halal]] dietary laws. However, the captive bolt is forbidden in both religions.
== Cause of human death ==
Exsanguination is a relatively uncommon and dramatic cause of death in humans. It might be more precise to say that exsanguination is a ''mode'' of death rather than a cause, since the fact of exsanguination will have some underlying cause. It is essentially bleeding to death.
Exsanguination is a [[suicide method]] caused by cutting of arteries, notably: [[carotid artery|carotid]], [[radial artery|radial]], [[brachial artery|brachial]], [[ulnar artery|ulnar]], and [[femoral artery|femoral]] arteries.
Trauma (injury) 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){{Fact|date=May 2008}}. Non-battlefield causes can include partial or complete [[amputation]] from use of [[circular saw]]s (e.g., hand-held circular saw, [[radial arm saw]], [[table saw]]).
Patients can also develop catastrophic internal [[hemorrhage]]s, such as from a bleeding [[peptic ulcer]] or [[spleen|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.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}
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 vomiting of the alcohol leading to massive bleeding and sometimes exsanguination.
==See also==
* [[Hypovolemia#History|Desanguination]]
* [[Slaughterhouse]]
[[Category:Causes of death]]