Summary
The number of cells in the cerebrospinal fluid increases after death. It is not clear whether this observation represents a post-mortem or a supravital phenomenon. There is speculation that some of the cells actively enter the cerebrospinal fluid during the first hours after death and that the rest exfoliate from the subarachnoid layer. The post-mortem cell count in cerebrospinal fluid correlates to the time after death and can be described mathematically (polynomial curve of third order).
Zusammenfassung
Die Zellzahl im Liquor cerebrospinalis steigt nach dem Todeseintritt an; es handelt sich aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach um einen supravitalen oder postmortalen Prozeß. Unsere Beobachtungen sprechen dafür, daß ein Teil der Zellen in den ersten Stunden aktiv in den Liquorraum gelangt. Bei den restlichen Zellen dürfte es sich um abgeschilferte Zellen der weichen Hirnhaut handeln. Die postmortal bestimmte Zellzahl läßt sichmittels einer Formel einer Liegezeit zuordnen (Polinomialkurve dritter Ordnung).
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Wyler, D., Marty, W. & Bär, W. Correlation between the post-mortem cell content of cerebrospinal fluid and time of death. Int J Leg Med 106, 194–199 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01371336
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01371336