This is a serious question.
Obviously the heart stopping and breathing stopping are quite significant indicators, but there are cases where both these occur but the person still recovers maybe 10 minutes later .
Ultimately does science yet have a hard and fast measure as to when death has occured or is it down to the subjective but informed judgement of the doctor?
2007-07-08 23:24:08 · 8 answers · asked by ? 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Not too surprisingly, the death "status" is still subject to many controversies and greatly depends on the country you live in, as well as the time (epoch).
In the 17th century, a body was pronounced dead if, by biting (yes, biting) the big toe, there were no reaction. (Unfortunately true, and many exhumed bodies have shown traces of life after death...)
Later on, cardiac arrest was sufficient.
More recently, a general convention was to accept death when the three vital functions have stopped: breathing, heart beat and brain activity.
Now, of course, the debate is still on: we can mechanically sustain breathing and blood flowing, while the brain shows activity. On the other hand, some deep comas keep having natural breathing and heart beating, but no apparent brain activity. Which one is the more "dead", or are they?
It now depends on the doctor (usually), and the lawyers, and the country...
It is generally accepted that death occurs when these three functions stop (without external support).
However, scientists are pushing further away the limits of our understanding of death, studying the NDEs (near death experiences), and have revealed that, even with the three functions clearly inactive, there is STILL something "alive", and the body can come back. (We are not talking of the hypothetical soul here).
The debate is open, and the law makers are far behind scientists and way too incompetent to judge.
We can (could) apply a chemical analysis and a bit of logic.
We can (could) assume that death occurs when the brain stops doing things (assuming that a body that breathe and pumps its blood is not "alive" as such, but some sort of plant or machine).
In this case, we can (could) monitor brain activity. When there is no activity, we have the first symptoms of death, but death cannot yet be pronounced: we have to wait for the DECAY of the neural network within the brain. This, we know, is irreversible.
So we can (could) measure the amount of decay in the brain.
But WHEN do we declare death? After "how many percent of decay"?
A normal human being brain deprived of oxygen for more than 3 minutes is bound to suffer some irreversible brain damage, but it may come back!
That is still debatable...
When do we die?
We just don't know yet!
2007-07-09 03:59:25 · answer #1 · answered by just "JR" 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's when a particular type of brain activity stops. I watched Grey's Anatomy, and there was a reflex that happened to what they were thinking of as a corpse - and they backed right up and started treating the 'corpse' as a patient. You'd have to watch the episode yourself with the subtitles on if you want to know the name and details of the reflex.
It's not subjective - it's testable, the test is repeatable by anyone who knows what they're doing, and what it's testing is 'is the person gone'. After that, they can keep the organs going for a while, for transplants - but not for that long, actually.
Helen
2007-07-08 23:43:22 · answer #2 · answered by cinnamonbrandy8 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi DW - it doesn't take long for putrefaction to set in. Within a very short time a green mould starts to grow on the abdomen.
If in doubt about death - brain activity (or lack of it) can be measured.
2007-07-08 23:36:39 · answer #3 · answered by Veronica Alicia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normally, the electrical activity in the heart is an indicator, this is usually measured by paramedics at the scene when called. The pupils are also fixed and dialated also. This is how they tested my grandad who died.
2007-07-08 23:44:20 · answer #4 · answered by clairejgray1 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Death can only be cerified my a wedical Dr, As a police officer I can only certfiy death, believe it or not, if the 'head has been removed from the body...'!
2007-07-08 23:58:55 · answer #5 · answered by brit_plod 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cold and blue would be a good start! Then of course after a long long time you would smell real bad and then start to loose weight all of it! Then also if you can't out run the bugs that are eating you that could do it too!
2007-07-08 23:34:14 · answer #6 · answered by dw03038 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I thought it is when pupils are fixed and dialated.
2007-07-08 23:34:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
WHITE AS GHOST AND UNDERTAKER CYNDROME
2007-07-09 07:42:03 · answer #8 · answered by ken p 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋