June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman who became the focus of a national debate as her parents and husband fought over keeping her alive, died of dehydration and not starvation, according to results of an autopsy performed by Florida medical examiners.

Schiavo's brain was ``profoundly atrophied'' and weighed half the size of a normal brain when she died on March 31, Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin said during a press conference in Largo, Florida. No amount of therapy would have reversed her trauma, he said.

Schiavo, 41, died in her hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, after her feeding tube was removed at the request of her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo.

Examiners weren't able to determine the cause of Schiavo's initial collapse in 1990 that led to her persistent vegetative state. The autopsy, which included more than 274 external and internal images of her body, also found no signs of trauma or neck injury.

To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Larkin in Washington at clarkin4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 15, 2005 11:47 EDT