Whitman's autopsy showed that he a small brain tumor in the part that controls emotional responses.
From here there were two different findings.
One report says that the tumor was malignant and would have killed him within a year, and contributed to his complete loss of control.
But another report released prior to that one says that the tumor was benign and could not have caused any pain.
An autopsy showed that Whitman had a pecan-size brain tumor, or astrocytoma, in the hypothalamus region, but Pathologist Coleman de Chenar said that it was "certainly not the cause of the headaches" and "could not have had any influence on his psychic behavior."
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