Karen Ann Quinlan
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Karen Ann Quinlan was an American woman who became an important figure in the history of the right to die controversy in the United States.
Quinlan in 1972, prior to her brain injury
Thalamus
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The thalamus is a large mass of gray matter on the lateral wall of the third ventricle forming the dorsal part of the diencephalon. Nerve fibers project out of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex in a
Karen Ann Quinlan
…be precisely determined. After she died, her entire brain and spinal cord were studied carefully. While her cerebral cortex had moderate scarring, her thalamus had sustained extensive damage bilaterally. Her brain stem, which controls breathing and cardiac functions, was undamaged. These findings suggest that…
Thalamus marked (MRI cross-section)
Visual depiction of basic thalamus
Medial nuclei of the left thalamus. Key: CeM Central Medial. CL Central Lateral. CM CentroMedian. MD Medial Dorsal. MV MedioVentral Reuniens. Pf Parafascicular. (Lateral view shows sagittal section through left thalamus)
Lateral nuclei of the left thalamus. Key: VA Ventral Anterior. VL Ventral Lateral. VM Ventral Medial. VPI Ventral PosteroInferior. VPL Ventral PosteroLateral. VPM Ventral PosteroMedial. (Medial view shows sagittal section through left thalamus.)