Main description:

This text provides an overview of the processes of brain death, exploring the concepts and historical approach of human death, clinical examinations of brain-dead patients, ancillary tests in coma and brain death, bioethical discussions of brain death and its relationship with some consciousness disturbances, and the legal considerations of human death. Unlike other, narrow-focus reference this book encompasses a wide spectrum of issues including medical, legal, bioethical and historical aspects.

Contents:

The Concept of Brain Death Did Not Evolve to Benefit Organ Transplants.- The First Organ Transplant from a Brain-Dead Donor.- Conceptual Approach to Human Death on Neurological Grounds.- Clinical Diagnosis of Brain Death.- Ancillary Tests in Brain Death Confirmation.- Brain Death in Children.- Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States and Other Disturbances of Consciousness.- Brain Death and Organ Transplantation: Ethical Issues.- Legal Considerations on the Determination and Certification of Human Death.