CEREBRAL FAT EMBOLISM

Abstract

Fat embolism, which is understood to be the entrance of a liquid oil into the circulation in sufficient quantity to obstruct the passage of blood through the vessels in the various portions of the body, has been little studied experimentally in regard to the effect on the brain. As pointed out by Neubúrger, it is found that whereas cerebral air emboli have been studied almost entirely experimentally, on the other hand, the study of the effects of fat emboli on the brain has been confined equally closely to material obtained from autopsies on man. In an extensive review of the literature no reference has been found to an exclusive experimental study of the effect of fat embolism in the tissue of the brain; however, the postmortem studies made by Neubürger and Weimann have given valuable information regarding its cerebral action. Fat embolism, according to Lehman and Moore, Vance and others,