Forensic Pathology and Experimental Research on Brain Death

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1. Among the medico-legal autopsies performed in recent 10 years, 62 cases of brain death and 5 cases of vegetative state were evaluated grossly and microscopically. Many important findings were obtained.Characteristic findings of respirator brain could be already recognized in cerebrum, cerebellum and brdin stem in cases with duration of more than five to six hours' brain death. In medulla oblongata and upper cervical cord, marked shrinkage and pyknosis of nerve cells were seen even in cases with comparatively shorter duration of brain death. Such findings in medulla oblongata, as respira tory center, will be of a help to understand morphologically the disappearance of spontaneous respiration in brain death. New valuable informations were obtained on histological findings of heart, liver and kidneys in cases of brain death which will become the objects of organ transplantation.These results were reported on the 71st Congress of the Medico-Legal Society of Japan, the llth Meeting of th … More e International Association of Forensic Sciences in Vancouver, the 9th National Congress of the Indonesian Association of Patholo gists in Jakarta in 1987 and on the International Congress on Forensic Sciences in Beijing in 1988.2. Animal experiments on brain death were done using rabbits. The animals were anesthetized, intubated and placed on a ventilator. In all animals brain compression and edema were caused by inflating an epidural balloon on one side of parietal or brain Stem portion. During the experiments the electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) were constantly recorded. Continuous stoppage of spontaneous breathing and flattening of EEG were made and the state of brain death were experimentally maintained using ventilator. Histopathological findings of brain, heart, liver and kidneys were compared with those of the human cases of brain death. Such state of brain death with long duration as human cases has not been produced yet. Postmortem changes of brain tissue, autolysis, were also discussed. Less