How long is a person conscious after being guillotined?

Question

I just saw a documentary about the French Revolution and was appalled by how many people they capriciously sent to the guillotine. Supposedly, it was intended to be a more humane alternative to hanging. I don't see how that can be true, since it leaves your brain completely intact, and your nerves are left to sense all the pain. There has to be a period of time after the blade falls when you are still mostly conscious (at least aware of the horrible pain). My question is, after your oxygen supply is cut, how long can you expect to be conscious?

In a perfect world, you would lose consciousness immediately, but I know that's not true. That thought scares the hell out of me.

The pain I refer to is, of course, limited to the part of your body above the cut. I know the lower part is just dead weight.

Also, when I've passed out in the past, I wake up only a few seconds later, pain or no. So I suppose you may pass out briefly, but you'll be awake and in hell (figuratively; I'm an atheist) before you know it.

Answer 1

"In actuality, the human head does remain conscious fifteen to twenty seconds after decapitation. This was proven when a scientist condemned to the guillotine in the 1700s told his assistant to watch and that he would blink as many times as he could. The assistant counted fifteen to twenty blinks after the head was severed, the blinks coming at intervals of about one second. So the head does remain briefly alive." The website for which I have listed a URL has an excellent article on this subject. I don't recall the name of the book, but when I was at Willamette Law School, I recall a book on executions that related a story identical to the one above. Its all rather gastly.

Answer 2

The loss of consciousness would be pretty quick actually. Its not simply that you no longer have oxygen getting to your brain, but more so the sudden loss of blood pressure that makes you unconscious (ever stood up too fast and almost pass out? that's from low BP in your noggin) So... at most, you'd be conscious for up to three or four seconds. As for the pain, there would be surprisingly little since the nerves running to your body are cleanly severed. you would only experience fire-like burning in the cut area of your neck if anything, and even that would probably take a few seconds by which time you are out.

I hope this takes away some of your anxiety. Just try to think of happy things before you go to sleep tonight ;)

Answer 3

Well since the head is no longer attached to the head you won't feel anything below the neck, and your brain itself doesn't have pain receptors for itself. Also when you get extreme trauma your body will automatically shutoff by passing out to shield you, so chances are you wouldn't feel a single bit of pain, or maybe a few milliseconds of it if you do. The thing with the blinking is believed to be nerves flaring and popping, such as when a lizards tail after being pulled off will twitch around on the ground, I don't think the head would live more than a second if that.

Answer 4

The medieval 'scientists' of that time believed one could be conscious up to 15 minutes. Modern scientists believe it to be immediate, although no experiments have been preformed for obvious reasons. Also back then, after the person was beheaded, they would hold the head up to the crowd and the 'person' apparently gaped with his mouth and his eyes still moved. Other than primary documents, we have no proof to say that it lives after beheading.

Answer 5

It has been speculated by the medical profession that you would remain conscious approx. 20-30 seconds. I don't think that you would register much in the way of pain (most of your pain receptors have been cut away!), and the horror and shock of having your head lifted up and being able to see your decapitated body would block out everything else, I would imagine. Not the way I'd want to go.

Answer 6

you will be conscious until about 35% of your blood drains out of your head. if exposed to oxygen properly, and the blood didn't circulate into the brain, you could conceivably stay conscious for up to half an hour. unlikely though. you will probably lose consciousness after about 10-30 seconds.

Answer 7

I believe that the French themselves debated this question. I am not sure that anyone knows. I saw on TV (maybe the same show that you saw) that French doctors tried to talk to the severed head to see if the eyes would blink.

Normally your brain can survive 4 minutes without oxygen, I was told. But that is assuming that you still have blood in your brain.

I don't think that anyone really knows the answer to this.

Answer 8

The answer is no for both parts. In order to remove the heart, you have to have a big opening on the chest. This can kill a person. Second, it is impossible to be conscious after someones' heart is removed.

Answer 9

I'm not sure, but I've heard 5-15secs, or however long it takes for the blood to seep out your neck. I'm not sure that you would feel any pain, though, as all the nerves would be severed. like when you mess up and cut yourself with a razor blade.

Answer 10

I believe that it would depend upon whether or not it was a good clean cut or not. You must understand that in order for you to feel anything in your lower extremities, the nerves down there send an electrical impulse to the lowest part of your spinal cord sometimes referred to the "horse tail" because thats what it looks like.
And in order for you to feel anything in your upper half the impulses from the nerves on the upper half are sent to the brain through the spinal cord.
So technically, if the spinal cord is cut, you will not feel anything. AKA paralysis.
Also, their heart will not beat and all smooth muscle contractions will cease because the brain is cut off from the rest of the body. (spinal cord cut)

If your spinal cord is cut... you're done.