Dipti Ranjan Tripathy*

Department of Neurology, Apollo Hospital, Rourkela, India

*Corresponding Author: Dipti Ranjan Tripathy, Department of Neurology, Apollo Hospital, Rourkela, India.

Received: April 19, 2024; Published: June 07, 2024

Abstract

“Thanatology” or the science of death, has its roots planted into mankind since centuries and has amazed and perplexed scientists equally worldwide.  Not late until about half a century ago, death was considered a defined point in one’s life, where his/her very existence ends. However, with the exponential burgeoning of understanding of physics and biology and introduction of sophisticated life supporting equipments like “mechanical ventilators” and the easy availability of the same to the public has literally blurred that “specific time point” which defines death. With this comes another intriguing question with legal implications, is when to declare death. With increasing promotional activity from Governments for Cadaveric Organ Donation, the declaration of death is mandated and hence the onus of responsibility rests on the doctor to take the decision. With the lack of an “Unified Criteria” for defining death worldwide, the question has largely remained unanswered, even though the criteria published by American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in 1995, has largely answered the same except for pending universal acceptance worldwide. With further growth of scientific knowledge and expertise in understanding of life process, a Unified Diagnostic Criteria for brain death with universal acceptance will deload doctors of the apprehension and guilt of taking the “Very important” decision. This review article will aim to discuss the historical aspects of brain death, the diagnosis of brain death, the controversies relating to brain death and its relevance to the present day.

 Keywords: Brain Death; Brain Injury

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Citation

Citation: Dipti Ranjan Tripathy. “Brain Death: A Comprehensive Review”. Acta Scientific Neurology 7.7 (2024): 17-24.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Dipti Ranjan Tripathy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.