CORRELATION BETWEEN THE POSTMORTEM CELL CONTENT OF CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID AND TIME OF DEATH

The number of cells in the cerebrospinal fluid increases after death. It is not clear whether this observation represents a post-mortem or a supravital phenomenon. There is speculation that some of the cells ac tively enter the cerebrospinal fluid during the first hours after deat h and that the rest exfoliate from the subarachnoid layer. The post-mo rtem cell count in cerebrospinal fluid correlates to the time after de ath and can be described mathematically (polynomial curve of third ord er).