What determines death. The official determination is a cessation of both brain wave activity and heart function. Others on AWE have claimed its when breathing stops. Does anyone have any imput as to when we should definatively call it death?

While breathing is necessary to life it can be artificially sustained. There have been many cases of people who have quit breathing but remained alive long enough to restart the process. And while its true the heart an be made to beat by machine for a short period of time both the heart beating and brain function is required for life. As long as one exist then life is said to exist. With a non functioning brain even a heart kept running machancially will stop at some point.

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When you start wearing your pants up to your armpits and screaming at kids for skateboarding on sidewalks, is when life ends.


In all seriousness, I thought it was when the heart stops and a doctor declares you dead.

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Death Worsippers

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PSI TECH INVESTIGATIONS and LAW ENFORCEMENT

When my mother died brain function had stopped almost immediately. However, the heart continued to beat for another 3 days. I was told that the heart, as the strongest organ in the body, could beat for a period of time even if all other organs were removed. She was not declared dead until her heart stopped.

As a practical matter even if you have brain function once the heart stops beating nothing can continue since no blood or oxygen is being pumped to the other organs. Officially, both have to cease before death can be declared.

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Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

Death Worshipping

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If you don't KNOW where you come from...you WILL wind up going nowhere.

That goes for Ideas, institutions as well as individuals :-I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUncnWxjUXM

PSI TECH INVESTIGATIONS and LAW ENFORCEMENT

"death (death) (deth) the cessation of life; permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions. For legal and medical purposes, the following definition of death has been proposed-the irreversible cessation of all of the following: (1) total cerebral function, usually assessed by EEG as flat-line (2) spontaneous function of the respiratory system, and (3) spontaneous function of the circulatory system.

brain d[eath]. irreversible brain damage as manifested by absolute unresponsiveness to all stimuli, absence of all spontaneous muscle activity, including respiration, shivering, etc., and an isoelectric electroencephalogram for 30 minutes, all in the absence of hypothermia or intoxication by central nervous system depressants. Called also irreversible coma and cerebral d[eath]." - Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 31st Edition

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Lack of oxygen starts to destroy all body functions after three minutes.

Any doctor will tell you that without proper respiration people die.

medical science has progressed to the point where artificially the body can be kept alive , but without proper oxygenation organs fail and die anyway.

I think death is when the brain stops working. you are not alive if you are braindead lying on a bed hooked up to machines.

Well, I am not a medical expert but I thought that when brain function was gone, then death has occurred.

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In medical terms that is only half of the equation. You need to have both brain death and no heart beat. No where does breathing enter the picture, except of course the fact that if you have no brain function and your heart is not beating you are going to stop breathing pretty damn quickly. However, breathing does not determine time of death for legal or medical reasons

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Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy