Terry Schiavo Report of Autopsy, Full Text as Released by Medical Examiner

Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office via St. Petersburg Times ^ | June 13, 2005 | Jon R. Thogmartin, MD

[FairOpinion]

Cause of Death: Complications of Anoxic Encephalopathy.

Manner of Death: Undetermined

The persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious state, are clinical diagnoses, not pathologic ones.

(these are all statements from the report)

[Diamond]

...the demonizing of her husband...

It doesn't take much to demonetize a demoniacally controlled man.

Because the funds were running out, decisions had to be made, and he, as her husband had every right to make them

HUSBAND??? Did you say, "husband"?

If she had any conciousness, ability to think, see understand, I would have said it was the wrong thing to do, but she was dead long ago. Her corpse was being kept alive, and that isn't life.

Since when are you privy to another person's de se state of consciousness? And if she was already dead why did they feel the compunction to starve her to death? Why didn't they just bury her corpse 15 years ago instead of propping it up in a hospital bed?

Cordially,

[Diamond]

And it is not the place of the state to force you to have it.

Nor is it the prerogative of the state to enforce your denial of it.

Cordially,

[Diamond]

Man you are warped, you are encompassing everything from 40 million abortions to Terry.

The death of one is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic.
Joseph Stalin

Cordially,

[commonerX]

The death of someone or many is tragic. But a bigger tragedy is to make someone live in a way they would not want to live. That is torture.

I am not a religious person but hasn't the religious right thought that buy keeping her alive on a man made machine was preventing Gods will. Maybe God had bigger things for Terry in mind and the machine was keeping her from him. But I guess God would have killed her anyway, right.

Machines can keep a body alive almost indefinitely, when is the natural process of life and death allowed to take over.

[Gelato]

Excellent post.

[Smartaleck]

"Tell me how could a doctor claim a woman is pvs and not take into consideration that she was blind? Do you not see any problem with that?"

No I don't have a problem with that. It's about parsing words.
If a patient is unresponsive to visual cues it matters not whether she is blind due to defects in the eyes, optic nerve to the brain or in the optic receptors/processors of the brain.

PVS State -
The lack of sustained, reproducible, purposeful or voluntary behavioral responses to visual, auditory, tactile or noxious stimuli, and a lack of evidence of language comprehension or expression. There is intermittent wakefulness manifested by the presence of sleep-wake cycles, a sufficient hypothalamic and brain-stem autonomic function for survival with medical and nursing care, bowel and bladder incontinence, and finally there are variably preserved cranial-nerve reflexes and spinal reflexes. In short, a wakeful unconscious state that lasts longer that a few weeks is referred to as a persistent vegetative state. (Borthwick MSTF 1). This state can last for more than fifteen years, however the longer a patient is in PVS the less likely they are of recovering from it.

She wasn't "blind" before her episode but she was visually unresponsive according to those who deemed her PVS. It matters not whether the lack of visual response is called blindness or not... still the same lack of response.
As indicated above the visual response is only part of the diagnosis.

[Smartaleck]

"The official one page autopsy report, which is actually signed on that page is the one that lists the official cause of death."

He signed off on the WHOLE report.

What is the CAUSE and MANNER of death on the death certificate?
The cause of death is the specific reason that a person dies, for example a stab wound to the abdomen, gunshot wound to the head, asthma, atherosclerotic heart disease, blunt impacts to the head and torso, hanging, drug intoxication or AIDS. These are only several examples. The manner of death falls under one of several categories: homicide, accident, suicide, natural or undetermined. Some jurisdictions utilize another category, therapeutic complication. The cause and manner of death are always listed on the death certificate.
BACK


What is the MECHANISM of death?
The mechanism of death is the physiologic reason for a person's death. ***Etiologically, it is nonspecific, and does not specify the underlying or proximate cause of death.*** It is generally not placed on the death certificate. Examples are sepsis, shock, electrical irritability of the heart or brain, seizures, exsanguination, cardiac tamponade, pulmonary thromboemboli, and asphyxia. (or in Teri's case hydration removal)
http://www.forensiconline.com/generallink.htm

See a difference?

[Smartaleck]

"You should read the autopsy, which RULED OUT bulemia."

Can you point to the language that indicates this was "ruled out"? All I can find is language that indicates bulemia to be UNLIKELY which I find decidedly different from RULED OUT.

Thanks

[Smartaleck]

"Acute hypernatremia often results in significant brain shrinkage"

How is significant defined? 50% ?

[Smartaleck]

"You made so many incorrect statements"

How so?

[88keys]

My computer is not wanting to "open" the full-report site...

Can someone who read the whole thing please post the pertinent info. regarding any evidence of bone fractures and also any indications of bulemia/"eating disorders"?

Thanks...I have no idea how an autopsy could tell at this late date whether or not Terri was bulemic, but I thought I heard something about broken bones...

[Smartaleck]

"Would you honestly expect the judge to ignore all that?"

Your asking the wrong person. I'd like to stick to the topic at hand which is the autopsy and what it contains.
Thanks

[daylate-dollarshort]

Oxycodone not oxycontin.

[tutstar]

Driving home from church last night a man in a merc passed me, turned to look at me smiled and gave me a thumbs up while nodding his head!! I think he liked my bumper sticker!

[kozachka]

PVS and coma are not the same.

There is no medical record of anyone ever recovering from PVS.

If you or anyone else have documentation to the contrary, please post it.

[Smartaleck]

"I copied the tape off Sean Hannity."

Did you copy his rants about the heart attack she never had? The doctors never said that and it isn't indicated on the hospital's admittance sheet. It shouldn't even be an issue.

[kozachka]

Bull. Your knowledge of medicine is minimal at best. Hydrocephalus, in the very early stages, and when due to blockage of CSF flow, can be corrected by shunting.

In her case the fluid was there occupying space, replacing tissue which had died. And this was a chronic condition, secondary to the anoxia she suffered when her heart stopped many years earlier.

Neurons, unlike cells in other parts of the body, do not regenerate. You can produce new bone, muscle or blood tissue, but there is very little new neuronal growth after birth.

[Smartaleck]

"I have been employed in the medical field for about 25 years."

How long have you been a rumor monger impugning the reputation of the coroner without offering any proof of what you accuse him of?

[MarMema]

You mean from a diagnosis of PVS. Since there is no gold standard and the diagnosis itself is hardly reliable, there are plenty of people who had been diagnosed with PVS and then recovered.

[MarMema]

How long have you been a rumor monger impugning the reputation of the coroner without offering any proof of what you accuse him of?

What was it that I accused the coroner of?