Jackson to be buried without brain: report

Michael Jackson will be buried without his brain in a private ceremony on Tuesday by his family.

The pop star, 50, died after a suspected cardiac arrest on Tuesday but the circumstances around his death continue to baffle the investigators.

Michael Jackson's brain was taken out to conduct neuropathology tests to seek clues to his sudden collapse and demise, the Daily Mirror reported.

Los Angeles Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey confirmed that neuropathology tests will be carried out on the legend's brain to see if it holds any clues to the exact cause of his death, said the newspaper.

Sources at the coroner's office revealed that his brain was removed before his body was released to relatives two days after his death, last Tuesday.

The examination on Jackson's brain cannot begin until at least two weeks after the death when the brain will harden sufficiently to slice it open.

Jackson's family was given the choice to either wait for three weeks to reclaim the organ or to bury the star without his brain but they decided to go ahead with the funeral, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Los Angeles County.

The closed casket family ceremony will be followed by a public memorial at LA's Staples Centre, which will be attended by Diana Ross and Elizabeth Taylor among other celebrities. Musician Stevie Wonder will also perform during the ceremony.

The tests on Jackson's brain will reveal among other things, past drug use and whether he has suffered overdoses in the past.

The brain can also show any past abuse of alcohol or if the deceased had suffered from any diseases.

"The tissue has to be examined. I can't tell you how long that is going to take," said Harvey.

The family has the option to reclaim and bury the organ later.