Primary pontine hemorrhage: clinicopathological correlations.

In 18 autopsies from patients with primary pontine hemorrhage we studied the sites of bleeding, the volumes and development of hematomas and clinicopathological correlations. A modular optical electronic planimeter was introduced to measure the size of hematomas. The series of patients can be divided into 2 groups from the viewpoint of bleeding sites, their development and clinical symptomatology. These are 1) the tegmentobasilar type and 2) the tegmental type. The precise location of the origin of hemorrhage, and the approximate volume of hematomas can now be determined with the help of computerized tomography. This information will be of help in understanding clinical symptoms. Two different typical patient reports, selected from the collection, are presented.