RESUMO
Craniocerebral injuries were examined macromorphologically on autopsy of 123 persons who had died of the trauma. According to the site to which the force had been applied and the direction of the axis of the blow, all craniocerebral traumas were distributed among 6 types (modification of classifications suggested by Spatz, Unterharnsheidt and Ripperger, and Mayer). The main mechanical properties of the arteries of the base of the brain were determined in 45 casualities: relative deformity in a force of small load, maximum (destructive) relative deformity, and strength. Drastic changes in these properties were revealed in cases with a severe cerebrocranial trauma terminating in death, which was particularly characteristic of types I, II, and III craniocerebral trauma.