London priest, a former neurologist, proposes new cause of Jesus Christ's death

Marina Gromchenko

London priest Patrick Pullicino, a former neurologist, published an article in the Catholic Medical Quarterl with his version of the cause of the death of Jesus Christ, reports the Daily Mail. The Bible describes how, while carrying the cross, Jesus fell under his weight, and how, after his death, "one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out". Pullicino believes that Jesus dislocated his shoulder during the fall, and this injury was fatal, provoking severe bleeding.

The priest studied the results of a forensic medical examination made during the study of the Shroud of Turin - a piece of linen cloth, in which, after being removed from the cross, the body of Jesus was wrapped, and found evidence of a dislocation of the right shoulder on the imprint of the figure. The injury was so severe that the right hand of the figure printed on the canvas is 10 cm longer than the left. The dislocation may have ruptured the subclavian artery, the paired artery in the chest that supplies blood to the head, neck, shoulder, and arms, Pullicino suggests. This, in turn, could cause extensive internal bleeding and lead to death.

“Due to the stretching of the right arm, the right subclavian/axillary artery has also been stretched. With each breath, it touched the surface of the rib, being subjected to friction. As a result, within three hours, the subclavian artery was damaged, its walls weakened, and a rupture occurred, which caused profuse bleeding”, - writes the reverend professor.

All this explains why, when the warrior Longinus pierced the hypochondrium of Jesus with a spear, blood gushed out of the body: the cavity between the chest and the lung was filled. As for the "water," according to Pullicino, it was most likely cerebrospinal fluid.