Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: annie123 on 12/02/2010 07:32:48

Title: When are we dead?
Post by: annie123 on 12/02/2010 07:32:48

I saw an operation being done on tv- and have seen this before - when someone is having a heart operation  and the blood is drained out of the body,the heart is stopped, the body temp is very much lowered and the brain waves are completely flat. How is this person still alive? how is he comparable with a person deemed dead? How would the surgeon know if the patient died? how can the body be made normal again after being frozen, drained of blood and brain dead?
And if , as one reply said, the cells are still alive at some level, if all the major signs of death occurring are there in a regular corpse, how can anyone know whether that corpse has some cells left alive and could be revived like the body on the operating table? how many people are actually buried alive? i.e. potentially revivable?

Title: Re: When are we dead?
Post by: JnA on 13/02/2010 11:39:21

the key is keeping the organs sustainable. That is no cell death (or little enough to restore function) it's not an exact science though.

I am amazed at what can be done though...

Title: When are we dead?
Post by: annie123 on 20/02/2010 07:31:06

That article is very interesting.I hope it gets checked out and if valid, changes doctors' approaches. I'm surprised that there haven't been more replies to my question, because it seems such an important one n terms of how we will be judged to be dead when the time comes. Why is the body on the operating table not dead when all systems are shut down? And if slow reoxygentation is the answer, then could we all be revived?

Title: When are we dead?
Post by: Pwee on 20/02/2010 18:17:52

Doctors and paramedics always try to reanimate you if they see a chance that you come back to life and it's worth it.

I'd aswer to your question with some questions of my own: What do you concider yourself? Your heart? Your brain? Your consciousness? Sometimes people come back to "life", but they never reach consciousness again. They lie in a coma for the rest of their "lifes" is that revival or not?
If your brain is injured, doctors can still save your functioning organs and give it to other people for transplantation. Do you think that this way you live along in those others bodies or not?
What do you think, why do most people die? The most frequent cause of death in western counries is cardiac problems and cancer. Would you like to come back to life and die again and agin in minites ( possibly in pain) because of your organs can't function properly?

Title: When are we dead?
Post by: iko on 20/02/2010 19:54:05

Quote from: annie123 on 12/02/2010 07:32:48

I saw an operation being done on tv- and have seen this before - when someone is having a heart operation  and the blood is drained out of the body,the heart is stopped, the body temp is very much lowered and the brain waves are completely flat. How is this person still alive? how is he comparable with a person deemed dead? How would the surgeon know if the patient died? how can the body be made normal again after being frozen, drained of blood and brain dead?
And if , as one reply said, the cells are still alive at some level, if all the major signs of death occurring are there in a regular corpse, how can anyone know whether that corpse has some cells left alive and could be revived like the body on the operating table? how many people are actually buried alive? i.e. potentially revivable?

The blood is actually drained out of the heart only: big arteries and veins are quickly connected to a heart-lung machine, a mechanical pump with a special device to oxygenate blood.  An artificial extracorporeal circulation is estabilished, to bring oxygen to brain, kidneys and liver plus all the other organs.  In the meantime the heart can be repaired...or transplanted.

(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbiomed.brown.edu%2FCourses%2FBI108%2FBI108_2004_Groups%2FGroup03%2FHeartLungMachine.jpg&hash=0cff250658493e256398a72625a297b6)

http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2004_Groups/Group03/HeartLungMachine.jpg