Comments on: Can I Keep Blood Flowing Through A Detached Head? -beter Explained?

By: April

April — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:08:14 +0000

i don`t think it will work with a pigs head or human head..once the heart stops pumping blood…that`s all ya` get..i think..and i think it would coagualate pretty quickly..when you shrink human heads it`s the lack of blood that helps it dry..i think…now i have a question for you..I think..therefore I am..but if I don`t..AM I ??good luck with the detachment experiment!

By: Jeremy M

Jeremy M — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:26:09 +0000

Didn’t you like the answers you got before??????????????????? with this question?????
Firstly, you would have no access to either of these easily. As well, there is the very simple problem (?) of just hooking up arteries and veins going into the brain, and coming out of it, and to provide enough pressure so that leaks did not spring all over everywhere…. that solved, (no easy task, and for sure not a cheap one…..)
Secondly, by the time you did indeed get a porcine head, most of the small capillaries would be hopelessly clogged as well as there would have been some significant bacterial aging….even if this were done within 20 minutes of the slaughter of the animal… you would have less than 5….unless it were super cooled almost immediately, and even then…… As such, in essence the bacterial that digests and attacks foreign bacteria in the blood and body, would now begin to digest all cells around it. more slowly, of course in a super-cooled enviornment, but none the less, it would begin to occur…….so the integrity of your system would be compromised before you even got it set up.
Thirdly, the blood pressure must be maintained exactly — if you did not maintain it exactly, the structural areas involved with circulation would simply disintegrate….brain tissue is intolerant of aberrant pressures.
I am assuming that you have asked this question to see if consciousness can be maintained in a head, without the body, and the answer is no, it cannot. ( and freezing a head to bring it back and attach it to a body later doesn’t work either because of the nature of thawing water, which I’m sure you are aware of…. There is no problem freezing it, although a pig head is rather thick, the problem is in thawing…..)
There are other structures outside the head which are necessary for consciousness to be maintained, quite apart from blood circulation Brain cells use energy, oxygen, various nutrients and compounds–salts, electrolytes, etc., made and or regulated only by other body parts — liver, adrenaline glands and the like. Without those carefully monitored by yet other organs within the body, consciousness is impossible. And we have no artificial livers, pancreases, to supply those requirements…. Think of someone in a coma…. there are, in many cases, no reason for the coma to exist, and yet, they remain unconscious. We really don’t quite understand what consciousness is. We do know that certain anesthesias alter the sodium in the blood and the sodium bonds in the brain’s area of consciousness enough for anesthesia to take place. What we don’t exactly understand is how the brain rids itself of those sodium compounds introduces thru inhaled anesthesia gases, but it has to be a function of the liver. But why is it so different, and why isn’t the exact amount for everyone of similar weight the same?
More on your question You cannot pump water thru it to maintain cereberal health although you could probably pump even gasoline for while…. water lacks electrolytes, and in essence the brain would shrivel thru reverse osmosis….
Sorry.

By: hallitub

hallitub — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:21:09 +0000

Watch Monster Gararge or something… You need a better hobbie than that…

By: The Un-Cola

The Un-Cola — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Your curiosity is great ! At U Cleveland, a lab has been experimenting with head transplantation in Simians. The issue is not so much perfusion as inducing axonal reconnection. Eventually a technique will be developed to bring the many vascular and neural tubes to the outside of the body, so that the connection can be monitored there, which you ca’nt once you sew back up.
BTW, you also want to cool this blood as ischemia risk is lowered, san diego company just has IND approval for device for this. No , actually it is already being used in neurosurg.
Good luck.
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By: Mz Brunette

Mz Brunette — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:59:21 +0000

It might be possible but I think you would need a heperinized solution to avoid clotting. Embalming involves pumping a non blood fluid through all the vessels so I think it is technically possible but your specimen MUST BE absolutely fresh or clots will have already developed.
A difficult experiment.

By: mdGreg C

mdGreg C — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:58:17 +0000

Ew you sicko

By: mdGreg C

mdGreg C — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:03:05 +0000

I Think You Are Much Better Off Doing This as “in Vivo”, With Ultrasound, or a Four-Vessel Angiogram. I Don’t Think you Will Be able to Profuse a Detached Head, Whether Porcine or Human. Talk to People On a CV (Cardio-Vascular) Service, See What they Say.