Cause of death

[1] Chrysippus allegedly died of laughter after witnessing a donkey eating his figs.

Der Tod des Dichters Pietro Aretino (The Death of the Poet Pietro Aretino) by ) by Anselm Feuerbach

Death from laughter is a rare form of death, usually resulting from either cardiac arrest or asphyxiation, that has itself been caused by a fit of laughter. Instances of death by laughter have been recorded from the times of ancient Greece to modern times.

Pathophysiology [ edit ]

Death may result from several pathologies that deviate from benign laughter. Infarction of the pons and[vague] medulla oblongata in the brain may cause pathological laughter.[2]

Laughter can cause atonia and collapse ("agelastic syncope"),[3][4][5][6] which in turn can cause trauma. See also laughter-induced syncope, cataplexy, and Bezold-Jarisch reflex. Gelastic seizures can be due to focal lesions to the hypothalamus.[7] Depending upon the size of the lesion, the emotional lability may be a sign of an acute condition, and not itself the cause of the fatality. Gelastic syncope has also been associated with the cerebellum.[8]

Notable cases [ edit ]

See also [ edit ]