asphyxia vs suffocation

asphyxia

noun
  • Loss of consciousness due to the interruption of breathing and consequent anoxia. 

  • Loss of consciousness due to the body's inability to deliver oxygen to its tissues, either by the breathing of air lacking oxygen or by the inability of the blood to carry oxygen. 

suffocation

noun
  • Asphyxia—a condition in which an extreme decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the body accompanied by an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide leads to loss of consciousness or death. 

  • A child left unattended may die of suffocation. 

  • A particular act of death or killing by means of asphyxia. 

How often have the words asphyxia and suffocation occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )