Skip to main content

ASU Global menu

Skip to Content Report an accessibility problem ASU Home My ASU Colleges and Schools Sign In
Arizona State University Arizona State University
ASU Library KEEP

Main navigation

Home Browse Collections Share Your Work
Copyright Describe Your Materials File Formats Open Access Repository Practices Share Your Materials Terms of Deposit API Documentation
Skip to Content Report an accessibility problem ASU Home My ASU Colleges and Schools Sign In
  1. KEEP
  2. Theses and Dissertations
  3. Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
  4. The Definition of Death According to Neurological Criteria: A Product of Medical Advancement and Reasons for Controversy over Accurate Diagnosis
  5. Full metadata

The Definition of Death According to Neurological Criteria: A Product of Medical Advancement and Reasons for Controversy over Accurate Diagnosis

Full metadata

Title
The Definition of Death According to Neurological Criteria: A Product of Medical Advancement and Reasons for Controversy over Accurate Diagnosis
Description

The concept of when human death occurs had for most of history been determined by criteria for cardiac death, defined as the cessation of a heartbeat and respiration. However, in the mid-1900's, a new definition of death emerged in the form of brain death, characterized by an irreversible cessation of brain and brainstem function. This definition was needed after resuscitation of the heart was made possible and a growing number of patients were in a state of ventilatory support but had undetectable brain function. The success of organ transplantation and the growing need for more organ procurements further reinforced the advantage of using neurological criteria to declare death. These advancements in medicine have created a need for a definition of death other than cardiac death and have led to the acceptance of brain death, though it is still the subject of controversy. It has been attacked as a concept with weak scientific foundations and ethical justifications, since the brain itself is not well understood and the definition is used to the advantage of the organ donation system. Those in opposition to the use of neurological criteria to pronounce death argue that it is not always correctly detected and is conceptually incoherent. It would help to resolve this point of controversy if accurate methods to detect brain death were standardized for all physicians to use when declaring death, so that no declarations could be termed inaccurate or incomplete. The definition of brain death needs more rigorous and updated scientific backing in its ability to be detected if it is to be imposed upon individuals by law, as it is in the United States. It is also possible that new research and developments in medical treatments will make the current definition of death subject to change, and understanding the underlying problems of the current definition of brain death will help eliminate issues in a new definition of death.

Date Created
2018-05
Contributors
  • Adame, Alexis Leilani (Author)
  • Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director)
  • McGregor, Joan (Committee member)
  • School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
  • Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Topical Subject
  • Definition Of Death
  • Brain Death
  • Controversy
  • Neurological Criteria
Resource Type
Text
Extent
63 pages
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Series
Academic Year 2017-2018
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.48636
Level of coding
minimal
Cataloging Standards
asu1
System Created
  • 2018-05-08 12:16:25
System Modified
  • 2021-08-11 04:09:57
  •     
  • 2 years 1 month ago
Additional Formats
  • OAI Dublin Core
  • MODS XML

Quick actions

About this item

Overview
 Copy permalink

Share this content

Feedback

ASU University Technology Office Arizona State University.
KEEP

Contact Us

Repository Services
Home KEEP PRISM ASU Research Data Repository
Resources
Terms of Deposit Sharing Materials: ASU Digital Repository Guide Open Access at ASU

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.

Number one in the U.S. for innovation. ASU ahead of MIT and Stanford. - U.S. News and World Report, 8 years, 2016-2023
Maps and Locations Jobs Directory Contact ASU My ASU
Copyright and Trademark Accessibility Privacy Terms of Use Emergency COVID-19 Information