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Exsanguination is the
loss of blood Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur Internal bleeding, internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the Mouth (human ...
from the
circulatory system In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart ...
of a
vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
, usually leading to
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
. The word comes from the Latin 'sanguis', meaning
blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...
, and the prefix 'ex-', meaning 'out of'. Exsanguination has long been used as a method of
animal slaughter Animal slaughter is the killing of animals, usually referring to killing Domestication, domestic livestock. It is estimated that each year, 80 billion land animals are slaughtered for food. Most animals are slaughtered for Human food, food; how ...
.
Humane Humanity is a virtue linked with altruistic ethics derived from the human condition. It signifies human love and compassion towards each other. Humanity differs from mere justice in that there is a level of altruism towards individuals included i ...
slaughter must ensure the animal is rendered insensible to
pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...
, whether through a
captive bolt A captive bolt pistol (also known as a captive bolt gun, a cattle gun, a stunbolt gun, a bolt gun, a stun gun and a stunner) is a device used for the stunning of animals prior to slaughter. A captive bolt pistol is intended to deliver a single ...
or other process, prior to the bloodletting. Depending upon the health of the individual, a person usually dies from losing half to two-thirds of their blood; a loss of roughly one-third of the blood volume is considered very serious. Even a single deep cut can warrant
suturing A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold Tissue (biology), body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a Sewing needle, needle w ...
and hospitalization, especially if trauma, a
vein Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and feta ...
or
artery An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...
, or another
comorbidity In medicine, comorbidity refers to the simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions in a patient; often co-occurring (that is, concomitant or concurrent) with a primary condition. It originates from the Latin term (meaning "sicknes ...
is involved. In the past,
bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) was the deliberate withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and othe ...
was a common medical procedure or therapy, now rarely used in medicine.


Slaughtering of animals

Exsanguination is used as a slaughter method. Before the fatal incision is made, the animal will be rendered insensible to pain by various methods, including
captive bolt A captive bolt pistol (also known as a captive bolt gun, a cattle gun, a stunbolt gun, a bolt gun, a stun gun and a stunner) is a device used for the stunning of animals prior to slaughter. A captive bolt pistol is intended to deliver a single ...
, electricity, or chemical. Electricity is used mostly to incapacitate
swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...
,
poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...
, and
domestic sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to ...
, whereas a chemical is used for injured
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
. Without prior sedation, stunning, or anesthetic, this method of slaughter may cause a high degree of
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
, depending on the process. How animals are handled and restrained before slaughter likely impacts their welfare more than whether or not they are stunned. If done badly, there can be a large element of cruelty involved, whereas killing under the correct conditions minimizes the pain or suffering, if any, inflicted upon the animal.Schulze W, Schultze-Petzold H, Hazem AS, Gross R. ''Experiments for the objectification of pain and consciousness during conventional (captive bolt stunning) and religiously mandated ("ritual cutting") slaughter procedures for sheep and calves.'' Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 1978 Feb 5;85(2):62–66
English translation by Dr Sahib M. Bleher
/ref> Continued pumping operation of the
heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
during exsanguination increases the rate of depletion and thus hastens
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
by raising the fluid pressure of the blood. Because the heart operates like a
positive displacement pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of applications such ...
, blood volume reduction will not affect cardiac output efficiency. Deprivation of blood to the heart does gradually result in diminished function, but concurrently with similar death of other parts in the body as blood volume declines. In preparation for slaughter, an animal is hanged head-down by its hind legs. Quickly after the animal is incapacitated, a very sharp knife, in an orientation parallel to the ground, is inserted through the skin just in front of the point of the
jaw The jaws are a pair of opposable articulated structures at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth ...
and below the vertebrate. From this position, the knife is drawn forward away from the spine to sever the
jugular veins The jugular veins () are veins that take blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava. The internal jugular vein descends next to the internal carotid artery and continues posteriorly to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Struc ...
,
carotid arteries In anatomy, the left and right common carotid arteries (carotids) () are arteries that supply the head and neck with oxygenated blood; they divide in the neck to form the external and internal carotid arteries. Structure The common carotid ...
, and
trachea The trachea (: tracheae or tracheas), also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all animals' lungs. The trachea extends from ...
. Properly performed, blood will flow freely, and
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
will occur within seconds. Sheep and duck will reach heart and liver malfunction, leading to death, in under 10 seconds; larger animals, notably cattle, may take up to 40 seconds to reach brain death. This period may extend to a couple of minutes if complications, such as arterial occlusion, occur. However, the animal's inverted position allows blood to flow more precipitously, thus making it highly unlikely for an animal to regain consciousness before it is fully exsanguinated. In any case, animal welfare advisory councils clearly emphasize that the time from incapacitation to the start of exsanguination should be prompt, recommending a time under 15 seconds. 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.


In Jewish and Islamic slaughter

Jewish ''
kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
'' (kosher) and Islamic ''
dhabihah In Islamic law, ''dhabihah'' (; ), also spelled ''zabiha'', is the prescribed method of slaughter for halal animals (excluding fish, which are exempt from this requirement). It consists of a swift, deep incision to the throat with a very sharp kn ...
'' (halal) dietary laws mandate that slaughter is performed with a cut that immediately severs the esophagus, trachea, and the large blood vessels in the neck, causing loss of consciousness and death by exsanguination. The double-edged pointed knife is prohibited. Instead, a long knife with a squared-off end is used that, in Jewish law, must be at least twice the width of the animal's neck. The operation of sticking or exsanguination is executed faster than when using the pointed knife, as four large blood vessels in the neck are severed simultaneously. In
Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and
Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...
, captive bolts and other methods of pre-slaughter paralysis are not permissible, as consumption of animals found dead are regarded as
carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...
and stunned animals that are later killed fall into this category. Various halal food authorities have more recently permitted the use of a recently developed
fail-safe In engineering, a fail-safe is a design feature or practice that, in the event of a failure causes, failure of the design feature, inherently responds in a way that will cause minimal or no harm to other equipment, to the environment or to people. ...
system of head-only stunning using a mushroom-shaped hammerhead that delivers a blow that is not fatal, proved by it being possible to reverse the procedure and revive the animal after the shock. Such methods, particularly involving unstunned animals, have been criticized by veterinarians and animal welfare organizations, among others. Prohibitions against unstunned slaughter have been enacted in several countries. See Animal welfare controversies in shechita for further information.


Suicide

Some methods of suicide, e.g., wrist slitting, rely on exsanguination as the mechanism of death.


See also

*
Hypovolemia Hypovolemia, also known as volume depletion or volume contraction, is a state of abnormally low extracellular fluid in the body. This may be due to either a loss of both salt and water or a decrease in blood volume. Hypovolemia refers to the loss ...
** Hypovolemia#History (Desanguination) *
Slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...
*
Tourniquet A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to create ischemia or stopping the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation. A simple tourniquet can ...


References

{{reflist Bleeding Causes of death