Greetings,
Miz Adventure. Medical Examiners don't write ARs for laypersons. Generally, they don't write in the AR their interpretations of what they see. The AR is only to record the objective observations they make of what they see during the autopsy.
Dr. Meyer wrote in the AR the following which addresses the brain swelling (edema):
The 1450 gm brain has a normal overall architecture. Mild narrowing of the sulci and flattening of the gyri are seen. No inflammation is identified.
The
sulci and
gyri are the valleys and peaks on the outer surface of the brain that give it a corrugated appearance. Their "narrowing" and "flattening" indicate there was
some swelling, but it is not a quantitative measurement. The weight of 1450 grams (1.45 kg)
is quantitative and can be compared to other females by age and as a ratio of brain weight to overall body weight. JonBenet's body weight was measured as 45 pounds during autopsy (20.4 kilograms) so the ratio of brain weight to body weight would be 1.45/20.4 x 100 = 7.1 in the following chart (
the green line indicates where JonBenet's brain should fall, and the red line shows where it actually did):
So depending on which chart you use, JonBenet's brain weighed anywhere from 20 to almost 25 percent more than average for girls her age and her weight.
Meyer's comment that the brain had a "normal overall architecture" means that he saw no asymmetry or pronounced swelling in any one area. Had he seen (or noted) localized swelling in a small area, or edema only on one lobe, it might be an indication of less time between the head blow and death. IOW, the swelling would probably begin locally at the site of impact and spread to the entire lobe, and then it would possibly spread to the other lobe. But medical/forensic books make note that the swelling response is known to be more rapid in children than in adults.
Meyer also mentions that he was unable to see any
inflammation. This to me is somewhat contradictory to the other indications of a longer period of time between the head blow and death (yes, from strangulation). Inflammation is the body's response to an injury. Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation of what it is and how it develops. It is
not synonymous with "swelling," but swelling is one of the responses (some of them microscopic) that can develop as a result of inflammation. When Meyer wrote in the AR that he couldn't identify any inflammation, he was probably referring to the change in color associated with inflammation. It seems odd to me that since a longer period of time between the two insults
should allow enough time for noticeable inflammation to develop, there was none noted on JonBenet's brain. This is one of the reasons I tend to discount that long estimation of time accepted by so many others. "
No identifiable inflammation" means the body has not had sufficient time for it to develop from an injury.
Now you know much more than that idiot will ever know -- even if you take the time tell him. Please feel free to copy as much or as little as you wish of anything I write on this forum. I offer it freely to anyone who may find it helpful.
If you'd like to understand a little more about what Dr. Meyer wrote in the AR about the head injuries, you might find the following link helpful:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ll-Fractures-The-Weapon&p=9054790#post9054790