Pathological anatomy of the heart in noncardiogenic shock.

The main study methods used in situations of cardiogenic shock were applied to the hearts of patients who died of noncardiogenic shock, namely, the macroscopic nitro-BT test and histological examination for waves, contraction bands and coagulation necrosis. The hearts studied were obtained at autopsy from 20 patients who had died of hemorrhage due to the rupture of esophageal varices, from 18 patients who had died of massive pulmonary embolism and 15 patients who had died of noncardiogenic shock of different origin as well as 20 Wistar albino rats subjected to hemorrhagic shock. It was seen that all the forms of shock that were examined led to severe ischemic myocardial damage, as demonstrated by a positive nitro-BT test.