Internal decapitation, atlanto-occipital dislocation, or orthopedic decapitation describes the rare medical condition in which the skull separates from the spinal column during severe head injury. This is generally fatal, since it generally involves nerve damage or severing the spinal cord.
The practice of hanging relies on internal decapitation, as it creates a situation where subjects' necks are broken under their own weight. A botched hanging can result in an external decapitation or, if the neck does not break, a situation in which the subject strangles to death.
Read more about Internal Decapitation: People Who Have Survived Internal Decapitation
Famous quotes containing the word internal:
“Personal change, growth, development, identity formation—these tasks that once were thought to belong to childhood and adolescence alone now are recognized as part of adult life as well. Gone is the belief that adulthood is, or ought to be, a time of internal peace and comfort, that growing pains belong only to the young; gone the belief that these are marker events—a job, a mate, a child—through which we will pass into a life of relative ease.”
—Lillian Breslow Rubin (20th century)