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For the brain damage is not simply the result of an accumulation of blows —like a boxer's cauliflower ears for example—but the result of one or more damaging blows that may occur by chance. "A single punch, or even many punches to the head," says Dr. Corsellis, "need not visibly alter the structure of the brain." But there is still "the danger that, at an unpredictable moment and for an unknown reason, one or more blows will leave their mark." Present boxing conditions reduce the number of professional fights a boxer is likely to endure. Just by being in the ring, however, he exposes his head to punishment more frequently than other sportsmen. And once brain tissue is destroyed, "it is gone for good."