Originally posted by: Raiden256
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IIRC, the head was cut off so that a part of the brain stem(the part that controls these vital funcitons) was still attached to the spinal cord.Originally posted by: DrPizza
Wow, I've got to find a someone with a PhD in veterinary medicine who can explain how this is possible. I thought breathing and heart rate were controlled by parts of the brain.
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Wow, I've got to find a someone with a PhD in veterinary medicine who can explain how this is possible. I thought breathing and heart rate were controlled by parts of the brain.
Edit: From your own wiki link, btw.Post mortem, it was determined that the axe blade had missed the jugular vein and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was severed, most of his brain stem and one ear was left on his body. Since most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem Mike was able to remain quite healthy.