[Consideration of the mechanisms of head injury in boxing--case report (author's transl)]

Abstract

A case of a boxer aged 26 years who was knocked out by a series of five punches and died in consequence after 3 days was reported. This boxing match was recorded incidentally by video recorder, so that we could consider the mechanisms of the head injury and reveal the correlation between the punches on the head and the brain damages, comparing the video-record with the autopsy findings. The post-mortem examination showed that there were a slight subdural hematoma on the convex surface of the right cerebral hemisphere and a marked cerebral contusion from both frontal bases to the inside of the right temporal lobe and from the left thalamus to the upper part of the mesencephalon. Characteristically, these contusions occupied the central and anterior part of the brain. From the localization of the contusion, it was supposed that these damages were caused by the hasty twist and strain of the brain and brainstem, when the head was quickly rotated around the cervical column in horizontal direction by the punches. The analysis of the series of five punches revealed that the last two punches made the head rotate quickly from left side to right around the cervical column in horizontal direction. These result of the analysis support the inference that this rotating movement of the head brought about the damage.