Auditory brainstem response and temporal bone and brainstem pathology in brainstem death, with special reference to...

We studied the pathological changes in the temporal bone and brainstem, with particular attention to the autolysis of red blood cells in and around the blood vessels, in six cases of brainstem death determined by auditory brainstem responses (ABRs). Our findings showed that the cochlea, the visceral organs and the spinal cord below a certain level of the cervical segments continued to live after brainstem death. Red blood cells in the vessels of the brainstem and cerebellum exhibited severe autolysis, whereas most red blood cells in the cochlea were preserved. Our findings of autolytic changes in red blood cells in the brainstem, and the preservation of red blood cells in the cochlea, imply initial loss of brainstem function and delayed loss of cochlear function after prolonged absence of ABRs.