Abstract: Objective To study the effect of primary brain-stem injury on the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the reticular formation of medulla oblongata. Methods Immunohistochemical SABC was used to study the change of bFGF expression in the reticular formation of medulla oblongata after brain-stem injury by striking. Results The numbers of positive cells and positive intensity of the study group in the reticular formation of medulla oblongata were significantly elevated than those of the control group and the postmortem injury group . Conclusion The expression of bFGF is elevated in reticular formation after brain-stem injury.

Key words: primary brain-stem injury, reticular formation, bFGF