At the point of death.......................?

Question

What happens? We can break down the human body into organs, cells, cell constituents, molecules etc right down to a part of an atom and we know how a lot of the functions work (chemical reactions etc) but all the molecules, cells etc are exactly the same a few moments after death so what has gone to stop them functioning?
I'm not religious but believe we must have some sort of energy, life force, however you want to phrase it which goes as we pass away - what are your thoughts?

(Posted in Biology and Religion as it is probably a combination)

Answer 1

I think death is a process, not an event.

Death is deterimed as the point at which the heart stops beating, but for several hours, even days after 'death', chemical reactions are still taking place.

I work in an animal hospital, and have thought about this question many times when putting animals to sleep for example. We always tell the owners that as soon as the heart has stopped, and the reflexes near the eye have ceased, that the patient is dead. But how do we actually know that they aren't just paralysed?

Also I think it's really wierd that a person/animal can take so much in their life that could potentially kill them, but it doesn't. You could be so close to death, and then recover and everything goes back to normal. Then suddenly, something goes that little bit further and you do actually die.

Who really can determine when the actual point of death is, unless you have actually died yourself and experienced it.

Answer 2

Chemical reactions and electrical impulses are what allow the brain to function and think. If the circulation were to stop, the brain would start dying very quickly. If you brought someone back to life within 1 minute, they would be fine, the brain would be almost completely whole. After 4 minutes, you have a great probability of signifcant damage. After a half hour, you have almost no chance of legitimate brain function unless the body is kept at a very cold temperature.

These facts tell me that it is entirely an organic function. Is this "energy" you talk about hanging around longer b/c the body is colder? Or is it simply a matter of the brain not having enough cells left to function properly?

And when Phineas Gage had his brain pierced by a pipe and his personality change, was this "energy" affected as well? Or was it just chance that certain neurons were hit and others were not?

Answer 3

If there was a "magic moment" when it was clear that someone was dead, that'd make medical decisions a lot easier.

But it turns out it isn't all that clear at at what point someone dies (barring certain very violent deaths we needn't go into detail about). The rules of thumb we use to judge this all deal with the breakdown of biological processes: heart beat, brain signals, etc.

I think this is more consistent with a breakdown of the processes of life - the reactions, the integrity of cells, the signals bouncing around the brain - rather than the presence or absence of a "soul" or "life force". At the very least, I don't see what additional explanation you get from this "life force" that you don't get from "biological processes".

Answer 4

well i am religious so i would say the soul is now missing but from a biological sense i would say that the body and all it's cells causing these reactions through metabolism are deprived of oxygen and energy stopping every thing.

Answer 5

Well in the film 21 Grams, they suggest that the soul leaving the body= death, as apparently that is the weight change discovered in many dead bodies at the point of death. To quote the film "they say we all lose 21 grams at the exact moment of our death...everyone. The weight of a stack of nickels. The weight of a chocolate bar...the weight of a hummingbird."

Answer 6

My thoughts are that you are a child trying to venture into an area of which you have no expertise. Usually once a group of cells fail, and organ fails. Once one organ fails, the organ system fails. Once the organ system fails, another fails. Once you have multiple organ system failure, you have a cause of death. Sometimes it's rapid and sometimes it's not.

If you showed someone from 1400AD defibrillation, they would call it ressurection and witchcraft. Religion is an excuse to define that which humans cannot answer--it's becoming rapidly dated as we educate ourselves.

Answer 7

My friends Dad, actually drowned and was medically 'dead' and was revived. He said that after the initial feeling of panic as you are drowning this is over taken by an overwhelming feeling of peace and calm, he also reported floating towards a light, and seeing his Dad, who had died some years before. His Dad was telling him that he wasn't ready and to go back. He was jerked back to reality when he was defribulated!!

Now this man was the biggest sceptic and none believer before this event, but now firmly believes that the life we live now isn't 'it' and that we go on to another place!!

Answer 8

Oxygen has gone. No cell in the body can function without oxygen. Therefore, when we stop breathing, we die.

Answer 9

what happens is that the brain has been deprived of oxygen long enough to stop firing impulses along the synapses... the brain cannot operate without a constant supply of oxygen...

Answer 10

it has been said that at the point of death you just die and start to decompose, others say you see a light, other say that is your brain trying to trick you, and others say don't worry, be happy.