Since Teasdale and Jennet published a method that had been evolved in Glasgow for assessing the so-called "conscious level" in 1974, the method has undergone extensive evaluation, has been adapted widely and has come to be known as the "Glasgow Coma Scale". However some investigators raised a question about interpretation of the scale in argument, particularly in terms of analysis of prognosis. It may be indispensable for clinicians and investigators to come to an agreement in interpretation of each other's investigational result with the same idea about "Glasgow Coma Scale". So the authors now review some of the factors that contributed to the design of the scale, how it has withstood the test of both scientific study and practical usage, and also to set into context its offspring, the "Glasgow Coma Scale".
Coma ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Glasgow Coma Scale* ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Research Personnel