Coma
Definition
Mode of death due to failure of the brain (cerebral function). The patient is unconscious, unresponsive, with depressed or absent reflexes.
Related terms
- Asphyxia
- Mode of death due to interference with respiration and tissue oxygenation. Subtypes are anoxic, anaemic, stagnant and histotoxic.
- Brain Death (Brainstem Death)
- Irreversible cessation of all functions of the brainstem. Recognised in Indian law under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994...
- Cause of Death
- The disease or injury directly responsible for death. Recorded by the pathologist on the death certificate, it is distinct from manner of...
- Death
- Permanent and irreversible cessation of the vital functions of the body. Traditionally tested by stoppage of heart, lungs and brain; modern practice...
- Inquest
- Legal enquiry into the cause and circumstances of a sudden, suspicious or unnatural death. In India conducted by the police under BNSS...
- Manner of Death
- The circumstantial classification of a death using the NAME five-category scheme (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, undetermined), or the jurisdiction-specific equivalent, recorded separately...
- Mechanism of Death
- The physiological derangement through which the cause of death produced the dying process. Examples include exsanguination, asphyxia, sepsis, and cardiac arrhythmia. Multiple...
- Somatic (Clinical) Death
- Cessation of integrated functions of the body as a whole, marked by stoppage of heart, respiration and central nervous system activity. Cellular...
- Syncope
- Mode of death due to sudden failure of cardiac function leading to inadequate cerebral perfusion. Often vasovagal, cardiac arrhythmic, or haemorrhagic in...
Explained in
- Modes and Manner of Death: Forensic ThanatologyMode of death due to failure of the brain (cerebral function). The patient is unconscious, unresponsive, with depressed or absent reflexes.