death

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

Cessation of all life functions, so that the molecules and structures associated with living things become disorganized and indistinguishable from similar molecules found in nonliving things. In medicine, a person is pronounced dead when the brain ceases to control the vital functions, even if breathing and heartbeat are maintained artificially.

Medical definition
Death used to be pronounced with the permanent cessation of heartbeat, but the advent of life-support equipment has made this point sometimes difficult to determine. For removal of vital organs in transplant surgery, the World Health Organization in 1968 set out that a potential donor should exhibit no brain–body connection, muscular activity, blood pressure, or ability to breathe spontaneously.

Religious belief
In religious belief, death may be seen as the prelude to rebirth (as in Hinduism and Buddhism); under Islam and Christianity, there is the concept of a day of judgement and consignment to heaven or hell; Judaism concentrates not on an afterlife but on survival through descendants who honour tradition.

Although often coloured yellow, the island is intended to be copper, reflecting the country's name, ‘Copper Island’. Effective date: c. September 1960. >>