In a 22-year-old man, driver of a personal motor vehicle, who died within 39 hours after a traffic injury, the authors made histological and immunohistochemical examinations of the brain focu- sed on differentiation of primary traumatic and subsequent secondary changes. In haematomas the authors revealed the presence bi-and trivalent iron by Turnbull´s and Perl´s reaction as well as glycophorin by immunohistochemical reactions. White matter lesions were evaluated histologically by staining according to Palmgren and immu- nohistochemically by detection of neuron-specific enolase, beta-amyloid protein precursor and low molecular neurofilaments. Minor contusion foci in the corpus callosum and in the peripheral portion of the pons revealed the presence of extracellular bivalent iron and exceptionally also the presence of intracellular iron. Glycophorin was present not only in erythrocyte membranes but also in the form of lumps signalizing haemolysis. In the haematoma in the median portion of the pons neither iron nor free glycophorin were detected. At all investigated sites (subcortical areas of the white matter of the hemispheres, capsula inter- na, corpus callosum, pons Varolii) the authors detected numerous axonal deformities (oedema or formation of retraction spheroids) which revealed on immunohistochemical examination an in- tense reaction with antibodies in particular against neuron-specific enolase and beta-amyloid protein precursor, and to a smaller extent against low-molecular neurofilaments. The combination of the mentioned immunohistochemical examinations seemed a suitable method for differentiating primary cerebral injury (diffuse axonal injury and minor contusion foci in the corpus callosum and the margin of the pons) from secondary changes (haemorrhages in the median portion of the pons) which developed shortly before death as a manifestation of haemody- namic disorders associated with cerebral oedema)

        Key words: immunohistochemistry - diffuse axonal injury - neuron-specific enolase - beta-amyloid