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    What Is Death?

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    Kris Daniel Alarin
    This document discusses different types of death and how death is determined. It outlines four kinds of death: 1) clinical/somatic death, which occurs when vital signs cease permanently; 2) molecular/cellular death, which happens a few hours later when cell functions stop; 3) brain death, which means the brainstem is dead making the whole brain non-functional; and 4) biological death, which is the complete death of the body. Brain stem death, also called legal death, allows doctors to issue a death certificate even if the heart is still beating so organs can be donated. The document also notes that determining cause of death is important for legal reasons and suspicious deaths require a medico-legal investigation.

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    What Is Death?

    Uploaded by

    Kris Daniel Alarin
    18 views2 pages
    This document discusses different types of death and how death is determined. It outlines four kinds of death: 1) clinical/somatic death, which occurs when vital signs cease permanently; 2) molecular/cellular death, which happens a few hours later when cell functions stop; 3) brain death, which means the brainstem is dead making the whole brain non-functional; and 4) biological death, which is the complete death of the body. Brain stem death, also called legal death, allows doctors to issue a death certificate even if the heart is still beating so organs can be donated. The document also notes that determining cause of death is important for legal reasons and suspicious deaths require a medico-legal investigation.

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    This document discusses different types of death and how death is determined. It outlines four kinds of death: 1) clinical/somatic death, which occurs when vital signs cease permanently; 2) molecular/cellular death, which happens a few hours later when cell functions stop; 3) brain death, which means the brainstem is dead making the whole brain non-functional; and 4) biological death, which is the complete death of the body. Brain stem death, also called legal death, allows doctors to issue a death certificate even if the heart is still beating so organs can be donated. The document also notes that determining cause of death is important for legal reasons and suspicious deaths require a medico-legal investigation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    18 views2 pages

    What Is Death?

    Uploaded by

    Kris Daniel Alarin
    This document discusses different types of death and how death is determined. It outlines four kinds of death: 1) clinical/somatic death, which occurs when vital signs cease permanently; 2) molecular/cellular death, which happens a few hours later when cell functions stop; 3) brain death, which means the brainstem is dead making the whole brain non-functional; and 4) biological death, which is the complete death of the body. Brain stem death, also called legal death, allows doctors to issue a death certificate even if the heart is still beating so organs can be donated. The document also notes that determining cause of death is important for legal reasons and suspicious deaths require a medico-legal investigation.

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     WHAT IS DEATH?

     the termination of life


     the complete cessation of all the vital functions without possibility of resuscitation.
     an irreversible loss of the properties of living matter

     DEATH VS DYING
     Dying is a continuing process while death is an event that takes place at a precise time.

     Is the ascertainment of death a clinical or a legal problem?


     CLINICAL

     WHY IS THE DETERMINATION OF DEATH IMPORTANT?

     Civil Code:
    1. Extinguishment of civil personality (Art. 42)
    2. Transmission of property to heirs (Art. 774)
    3. Dissolution of partnership agreement (Art. 1830)
    4. Extinguishment of of Agency (Art. 1919)

     RPC:
    1. Extinguishment of Criminal Liability (Art. 89)

     Rules of Court:
    1. civil cases for claims which do not survive death are dismissed upon death of the defendant (Rule 3, Sec. 21)

     WHAT ARE THE FOUR KINDS OF DEATH? (Based on the Criterion Used for its Determination):

    1. CLINICAL/SOMATIC DEATH
     body’s vital signs of life cease to exist continuously and permanently (as per physician’s judgment)
     complete, persistent, and continuous cessation of the vital functions of the brain, heart, and lungs
    which maintain life and health

    2. MOLECULAR/CELLULAR DEATH
     cessation of respiration and metabolism of the body tissues
     When the vital body functions ceases, there is still life among individual cells.
     occurs about 3-6 hours later and is associated with the following:
    1. severe swelling of the cell mitochondria
    2. extensive damage to plasma membranes
    3. swelling of the cell lysosomes

    3. BRAIN DEATH
     follows clinical death almost immediately
    *unless resuscitative procedures are started promptly
    *human brain under normal conditions cannot survive loss of oxygen for more than six to ten
    minutes.
     3 stages of brain death
    Stage 1: Cerebral Cortex- patient is in cortical death
    Stage 2: Cerebellum- follows the death of the cerebral cortex.
    Stage 3: Brainstem and vital centers- death of brainstem results to failure of medulla and its
    respiratory center; ascending reticular activating system also becomes damaged resulting to
    permanent loss of consciousness
    *Whole brain damage=death of both the cerebral cortex and the brain stem.
    *Brain stem death = legal death (doctors can now issue a Death Certificate, even though the heart is
    still beating, and can make arrangements for the harvesting of organs and tissues)

     Harvard’s Criteria for Whole Brain Death


     Unreceptivity and unresponsibility — total unawareness to externally applied stimuli and inner
    need and complete unresponsiveness. Even the most intense painful stimuli evoke no vocal or
    other response.
     No movements or breathing —When patient is on a mechanical respirator, the total absence of
    spontaneous breathing may be established by turning off the respirator for three minutes and
    observing whether the patient efforts to breath spontaneously.
     No reflexes — Irreversible coma with abolition of central nervous system activity is evidenced in
    part by the absence of elicitable reflexes; pupil will be fixed and dilated and will not respond to a
    direct source of bright light; ocular movement and blinking are absent; no evidence of postural
    activity; swallowing, yawning, vocalization are in abeyance; corneal and pharyngeal reflexes are
    absent; stretch or tendon reflexes cannot be elicited (tapping the tendons of different muscles
    with the reflex hammer elicits no contraction of the respective muscle)
     Flat electro-encephalogram — Of great confirmatory value is the flat or iso-electric E.E.G,
    assuming that the electrodes have been properly applied, that the apparatus is functioning
    normally, and that the personnel in charge are competent.

    4. BIOLOGICAL DEATH
     all components of the brain are dead; permanent extinction of bodily life
     cardio-respiratory + brain death (with permanent cessation of all the anatomic and physiological
    functions of the body organs)
     death can be testified with certainty by an ordinary layman

    As doctors, we are tasked to pronounce the death of a person. There are 4 kinds of deaths, (1) clinical death,
    (2) cellular death, (3) brain death, and (4) biological death. Under brain death is brain stem death also known
    as “legal death”. When this “legal death” happens, as doctors we can now issue a death certificate.

    Also, if we cannot determine the cause of death maybe because the circumstances seem suspicious or
    difficult to explain, then our role is to call for a medico-legal investigation of such death.

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