A critique on the concept of "brain death"

Since the concept of "brain death" was introduced in medical terminology, enough evidence has come to light to show that the concept is based on an unclear and incoherent theory. The "brain death" concept suffers by internal inconsistencies in both the tests-criterion and the cri...

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Published in:Issues in law & medicine 2002-09, Vol.18 (2), p.127-141
Main Authors: Karakatsanis, K G, Tsanakas, J N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Bioethics
Brain - blood supply
Brain damage
Brain death
Brain Death - diagnosis
Brain Death - physiopathology
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials, Auditory
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory
Holistic Health
Humans
Medical ethics
Persistent Vegetative State - physiopathology
Regional Blood Flow
Theory
Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial
Unconsciousness - physiopathology
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creator Karakatsanis, K G
Tsanakas, J N
description Since the concept of "brain death" was introduced in medical terminology, enough evidence has come to light to show that the concept is based on an unclear and incoherent theory. The "brain death" concept suffers by internal inconsistencies in both the tests-criterion and the criterion-definition relationships. It is also evident that there are residual vegetative functions in "brain dead" patients. Since the content of consciousness is inaccessible in these patients who are in a profound coma, the diagnosis of "brain death" is based on an unproved hypothesis. A critical evaluation of the role and the limitations of the confirmatory tests in the diagnosis of "brain death" is attempted. Finally it is pointed out that a holistic approach to the problem of "brain death" in humans should necessarily include the inspection of the content of consciousness.
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source Criminology Collection; Nexis UK; Business Source Ultimate【Trial: -2024/12/31】【Remote access available】; Social Science Premium Collection
subjects Analysis
Bioethics
Brain - blood supply
Brain damage
Brain death
Brain Death - diagnosis
Brain Death - physiopathology
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials, Auditory
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory
Holistic Health
Humans
Medical ethics
Persistent Vegetative State - physiopathology
Regional Blood Flow
Theory
Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial
Unconsciousness - physiopathology
title A critique on the concept of "brain death"
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