Experimental hemorrhagic thalamic infarction in the dog.

As we have previously reported, a focus of cerebral infarction confined to the anterior half of the thalamus can be produced in the dog by simultaneously occluding four main arteries at the base of the brain. This knowledge was the basis of an investigation of hemorrhagic infarction following recirculation. In the animals after 6- to 12-hour occlusion, a high incidence of hemorrhagic infarction was found following recirculation. In brains autopsied 1 hour after recirculation, hemorrhagic infarction was seen in all of the dogs. The changes in regional cerebral blood flow and in computerized tomographic scans in this hemorrhagic infarction focus were also investigated.