Lincoln, Stanton and the Aeolian Harp

[Houmes]

(03-07-2015 02:05 PM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  It always amazes me how AL was able to hang on as long as he did with virtually no real medical assistance(compared to what he would have received today.) Between 1am-1:30am, his pulse and respiration rates were pretty normal, yes?

But I am a little disturbed and confused to read about "the struggling motion of the arms"....what was THAT about?

Between 12:55 and 1am, President Lincoln became brain dead. His brain was swelling to the point where enough of the brain and/or brain stem herniated down and out of the skull and into the spinal canal, and in the process compressed enough of the brain where survival was impossible. There was enough brain function to keep his heart beating and some breathing possible, but even if he had been placed on a ventilator he would not survive unless the cause could be treated--and even today with treatment survival is rarely possible. Think "vegitative state" if the patient survives. The arm movement (appearing much like a seizure) will either flex up to the chest over the heart (called decorticate posturing; "cor" is latin for heart) or extended straight out along the sides of the body (called decerebrate; "decere" is latin for "unbecoming"). These postures can occur with severe head trauma, drowning, stroke, bleeding in/on the brain, brain tumors, diseases such as severe malaria, and any cause of swelling of the brain or brainstem. Decorticate posturing usually occurs first, while decerebrate posturing is considered much worse or a later sign, leading to a terminal condition.