Injury of the brain and liver capillaries in lethal car accidents

The study is reporting about the range of changes in the brain and liver capillaries in lethal automobile collisions. We present five case studies, where there was no compression of the head and abdominal organs, but the cause of death was hypovolemic shock associated with excessive blood loss. During the autopsy we removed tissue samples which were subjected to standard processed in order to permit histological and immunohistochemical examinations. Slices of liver and brain tissue were immunostained for Bcl2L1, GFAP, IL-12, S100 and Vimentin. We found a wide range of changes in this material, with microbleeding, bloodstaining, relaxation of capillaries with release of erythrocytes into the periphery, as well as neuron, axon and supporting glial cells damage. We observed a relationship between the microruptures of brain capillaries and the death of adjacent astrocytes.