What Is Death?
There are two ways people die, cardio-pulmonary death and brain death. Cardio-pulmonary death occurs when the heart and breathing stops. Brain death occurs when a severe head injury, attack or some other condition permanently stops the flow of blood to the brain. When this happens, all brain function stops, including the most basic life-sustaining reflexes such as the ability to breathe, cough, gag, or respond to pain.
Death is indicated if the patient cannot breathe without assistance, has no pupil response to light, and has no response to pain. Physicians may run various tests to determine brain death and rule out any other conditions that could be causing the brain not to function, such as medical conditions, medication or extreme cold. The body may still have some reflexes that can cause jerking or movement of the extremities, but these are not related to brain function.
