age 53; attempted strangulation by her husband. There were slight ecchymoses on each side of neck under angle of jaw, most marked on left side; when seen, she complained of lassitude and lively pain in hypochondria and region of lower ribs antero-laterally; no sign of lesion. She stated that she was awakened from sleep by pressure on neck and chest and feeling of suffocation; she soon lost consciousness and so remained for some hours. Her statements were corroborated by other testimony. Laennec considered the case one of prolonged syncope from pressure on carotids.