June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman who sparked a national debate as her parents and husband fought over keeping her alive, was destined to remain in a vegetative state and wouldn't have benefited from therapy, an autopsy found.

Schiavo, who was 41 when doctors removed feeding tubes that kept her alive, had a severely atrophied brain that weighed about half of what a normal brain does, Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin said during a press conference in Largo, Florida. She was completely blind, he said.

``No amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons,'' Thogmartin said during the televised conference. ``Her vision centers of her brain were dead.''

The findings support statements from Michael Schiavo, her husband and legal guardian, who petitioned courts for seven years to allow his wife to die. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, fought him at every turn, seeking help from Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the U.S. Congress.

The Schindlers accused Michael Schiavo of abusing their daughter and pointed to videotapes they said showed she was aware of her surroundings and able to react to visitors.

``Mr. Schiavo was pleased to hear the evidence and hard science of those findings,'' George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, said during a televised news conference. ``We have been saying for years and years and years that the expert testimony has shown that Terri's eye movement and apparent response to visual stimuli was a reflexive action.''

No Signs of Trauma or Abuse

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. She didn't suffer any neglect or abuse, Thogmartin said.

Doctors said the autopsy didn't challenge the diagnosis that Schiavo had no cognitive functions and only the ability to breathe and keep her heart beating.

Michael Schiavo plans to release some of the autopsy photos, Felos said.

Schiavo died of dehydration and not starvation, the autopsy found.

``Removal of her feeding tube would have resulted in her death if she was fed and hydrated or not,'' Thogmartin said.

Medical examiners said they were surprised by the extent of Schiavo's dehydration and the high amount of sodium found in her skin and organs. Her brain was smaller than that of Karen Ann Quinlan, who died in 1985 after spending 10 years in a vegetative state that first drew national attention to the right-to-life debate.

`Questions'

The Schindlers want to have other physicians review the report, Brother Paul O'Donnell, a spokesman for the Schindlers, told Cable News Network.

``I think that there is still questions that the family has concerning Michael Schiavo's actions on the night and early morning of Terri's collapse,'' O'Donnell told CNN.

Congress and President George W. Bush became embroiled in the issue, taking the extraordinary step of enacting a law that allowed a federal court review of the case. The U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts repeatedly refused to intervene.

At least 19 judges considered the case over the years, and all sided with Michael Schiavo. The family battle drew national attention after Michael Schiavo got a court order to remove the feeding tube.

Congressional committees tried to intervene, seeking to hold hearings and threatening that anyone interfering with Terri Schiavo's ability to attend -- by removing her feeding tube, for example -- would break the law. The House Government Reform Committee planned to convene in her hospice.

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

Last Updated: June 15, 2005 15:35 EDT