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Neuropathology of Brain Injury in Cardiac Surgery

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Brain Protection in Cardiac Surgery

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Abstract

Of all the organs of the body, the brain is the most sensitive to perturbations in blood flow; cessation of, or reduction in, cerebral blood flow will, through the accumulation of neurotoxic metabolites, result in potentially irreversible brain injury. The principal mechanisms that underlie these changes to cerebral blood flow related to cardiac surgery are blockage of a vessel through embolic disease, hypotensive brain injury, or brain injury associated with the complete cessation of blood flow, usually as a result of cardiac arrest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    Colin Smith

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  1. Colin Smith
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Correspondence to Colin Smith .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, B15 2TH, United Kingdom

    Robert S. Bonser

  2. Cardiothoracic Surgery, Beaumont Road 208, Birmingham, B30 1NX, United Kingdom

    Domenico Pagano

  3. Klinik für Herz-, Thorax-,, Transplantations- und Gefäßchirurgie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany

    Axel Haverich

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© 2011 Springer London

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Smith, C. (2011). Neuropathology of Brain Injury in Cardiac Surgery. In: Bonser, R., Pagano, D., Haverich, A. (eds) Brain Protection in Cardiac Surgery. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-293-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-293-3_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84996-292-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84996-293-3

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