The morphological characteristics of brain death were examined in baboons and cats after artificial cerebral ischaemia. All animals showed autolytic changes in the brain, ischaemic neuronal changes, midbrain haemorrhages, focal necrosis of the brain-stem, demarcation at C 1/C 2 cord segment, and displacement of cerebellar tissue. Ultrastructural examination revealed extreme brain oedema, autoly...

A 41-year old previously healthy woman presented with severe headache, vomiting, low grade fever, bilateral eye pain, photophobia and deteriorating vision over one week. Examination showed neck stiffness and bilateral papilloedema [Figures 1 and 2]. She had no evidence of autoimmune disorders. Contrast CT brain and routine investigations were normal. CSF showed pleocytosis with negative microbi...

Water intoxication is a rare condition characterised by overconsumption of water. It can occur in athletes engaging in endurance sports, users of MDMA (ecstasy), and patients receiving total parenteral nutrition. This case outlines water intoxication in a patient with psychogenic polydipsia. When the kidney's capacity to compensate for exaggerated water intake is exceeded, hypotonic hyperhydrat...

High-altitude illness is the collective term for acute mountain sickness (AMS), high-altitude cerebral oedema (HACE), and high-altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE). The pathophysiology of these syndromes is not completely understood, although studies have substantially contributed to the current understanding of several areas. These areas include the role and potential mechanisms of brain swelling ...

Abnormal lower limb swelling is variously referred to as chronic oedema, lymphovenous oedema, lymphoedema or lipoedema (Todd, 2012). Generally, oedema is defined as an ‘accumulation of fluid in the intercellular tissue that results from an increased volume of fluid’ (Trayes et al, 2013). Chronic oedema includes oedema which develops as a result of venous disease, dependency oedema and lymphoven...

Intracranial hypertension after severe head injury may be caused by the swelling of brain tissues, the mass effect of expanding haematomas, or, rarely, the obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid outflow. Although the latter two causes usually require a neurosurgical intervention, tissue swelling is mostly managed medically. Tissue swelling results from intracellular fluid accumulation (cytotoxic oe...

Five hydroalcoholic extracts of edible plants from Calabria region (Italy) used in local traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases were evaluated for their in vivo topical anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition of croton oil-induced ear oedema in mice) and in vitro antioxidant and antiradical properties (inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation and bovine brain liposomes pero...

Criteria that are required to confirm heartwater in ruminants and mice are discussed. In ruminants it entails the macroscopical and microscopical lesions as well as the identification of Cowdria ruminantium in brain smears or histological sections. Macroscopical lesions in the majority of animals that die of the disease include effusion of body cavities, hydropericardium, oedema of the lungs, b...

Malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction is a devastating condition leading to early death in nearly 80% of cases due to the rapid rise of intracranial pressure despite maximum medical management of the ischaemic brain oedema. Decompressive craniectomy (DC) has been proposed to prevent brain herniation in malignant MCA infarction, but it remains controversial in the absence of randomis...