study of the effect of electric current injury on the brain morphology of the albino rat

ABSTRACT

Accidental electric injuries are daily occurring as electricity became a part of life. Also, criminal electrocution may be used as a variety of violence or vengeance with significant mortality and morbidity. In the present work, twelve adult albino rats of both sexes were used, exposed to variable durations of electric current without causing death to the animals, their brains were collected and processed for histological examination. It was observed that exposure to electric current for short period [2 seconds] caused mild axon degeneration in the brain. However, long period [15 seconds] led to submeningeal haemorrhage, brain oedema, vascular damage and degeneration of some ganglionic cells with fragmentation of many axons. Brain changes observed as a result of electric current injury for long duration can be attributed to the vascular damage rather than to the direct effect of the current and possibility if the victim survived, ischaemic necrosis will occur in the brain areas supplied by the affected blood vessels which may lead, later on, to various neurological manifestations