Cerebral malacia caused by Takayasu's arteritis--a case report.

This paper reports an unusual autopsy case, a 27-year-old man, who died from severe cerebral malacia. It is well known to our legal medical workers that cerebral malacia could be caused by injury and/ or disease. By coincidence, the deceased was subjected to head injury nine months prior to death, so differential diagnosis of cerebral malacia is very important in this case. His cerebral malacia was finally confirmed to be caused by Takayasu's arteritis not by his head injury by means of autopsy and pathological examination.