Dear everyone,
I guess I am conservative - I'd like my family to be asked to give
permission for that!
Sinead.
At 06:03 22/03/01 -0800, you wrote:
>Dear Everyone,
> I asked my brother-in-law, a very well known pathologist, about missing
>hearts during autopsy. He saw nothing unusual about Alisdair's heart being
>gone. Here is his explanation:
>
>"Certain organs that are examined at autopsy benefit by being kept aside and
>examined more thoroughly at a later date. Brain is a prime example. The
>heart is another - especially if there is concern for the circulation - the
>coronary arteries that bring blood to the heart so it can function (it does
>not get its blood from inside the heart).
> The coronary arteries have several branches and there may be obstruction in
>them - anywhere in their distribution. The best way to study this is to
>inject the origin of the left and right coronary arteries where they come
>off the aorta. They are injected with a liquid that has baruim in it so
>that when an x-ray is taken, the arteries standout. Then you can go back to
>specific points of narrowing and examine them closely - including taking
>sections for microscopic exam if you want to. It also inpoints areas of
>blood distribution to look for small areas of heart-muscle damage.
>
>This is all a time consuming job, and so the heart is removed from the body,
>separated from the vessels, and set aside to be injected or more meticuously
>dissected at a later time. In some institutions, the hearts from the
>previous week's autopsies are kept for a single session and all are cut at
>the same time by someone who has special interest or expertise. The heart
>may then be discarded after studies or it can be kept indefinitely since it
>has been embalmemd by formalin"
>
>Laurel
>
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