When is a human considered dead?
468436
Determining when death actually occurs\n\nHistorically, attempts to define the exact moment of death have been problematic. Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, but the development of CPR and prompt defibrillation posed a challenge, rendering the previous definition inadequate. This earlier definition of death is now called "clinical death", and even after it occurs, breathing and heartbeat may be restarted in some cases. Events which were causally linked to death in the past are now prevented from having an effect; even without a functioning heart and lungs, a person can be sustained with life-support devices. In addition to such extremes, there is a growing number of people who would quickly die if their organ transplants or cardiac pacemakers failed.\n\nToday, where a definition of the moment of death is required, doctors and coroners usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death": people are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases (cf. persistent vegetative state). It is presumed that a stoppage of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness. However, suspension of consciousness must be permanent, and not transient, as occurs during sleep, and especially a coma. In the case of sleep, EEGs can easily tell the difference. Identifying the moment of death is important in cases of transplantation, as organs for transplant (the brain excluded) must be harvested as quickly as possible after the death of the body.\n\nAmong human beings, brain activity is a necessary condition to legal personhood in the United States. "It appears that once brain death has been determined … no criminal or civil liability will result from disconnecting the life-support devices." (Dority v. Superior Court of San Bernardino County, 193 Cal.Rptr. 288, 291 (1983))\n\nHowever, those maintaining that only the neo-cortex of the brain is necessary for consciousness sometimes argue that only electrical activity there should be considered when defining death. Eventually it is likely that the criterion for death will be the permanent and irreversible loss of cognitive function, as evidenced by the death of the cerebral cortex. All hope of recovering human thought and personality is then gone. However, at present, in most places the more conservative definition of death — cessation of electrical activity in the whole brain, as opposed to just in the neo-cortex — has been adopted (for example the Uniform Determination Of Death Act in the United States). In 2005, the case of Terri Schiavo brought the question of brain death and artificial sustainment to the front of American politics. Generally, in such contested cases the cause of death is anoxia. Oxygen deprivation for about seven minutes is sufficient to kill the cerebral cortex.\n\nEven in these cases, the determination of death can be difficult. EEGs can detect spurious electrical impulses when none exists, while there have been cases in which electrical activity in a living brain has been too low for EEGs to detect. Because of this, hospitals often have elaborate protocols for determining death involving EEGs at widely separated intervals.\n\nThere are many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and then coming back to life, sometimes days later in their own coffin, or when embalming procedures are just about to begin. Stories of people actually being buried alive (which must assume no embalming) led one inventor in the early 20th century to design an alarm system, with a bell and a cord that could be pulled from inside the coffin.\n\nBecause of the difficulties in determining death, under most emergency protocols, a first responder is not authorized to pronounce a patient dead; some EMT training manuals, for example, specifically state that a person is not to be assumed dead unless there are clear and obvious indications that death has occurred
592928
donnt know, in my opinion, dead people should stay dead.
123700
Not that I am aware off.  What makes you think he is dead?
101833
Death is an absolute condition.  You cannot be half dead.  You are either dead or you are alive.  Literary abuses of the term do not alter the actual condition\n\nBut I think you are making joke and mean to say that a person would be 100% dead.
552187
Yes, it has happened in cases where nothing would show on any equipment and the heart had stopped. It is possible to be legally dead and brought back to life, but only in certain circumstances. Consider drowning. You can be legally dead from drowning, your heart stopped, but an electric charge will bring you back if done within a certain amount of time. There are alot of stories on this under 'near death experiences'. Look em up. Crazy stuff.
990130
How the heck are we supposed to know.  We're NOT DEAD YET!!!!!!!
574606
do you see dead people?
30387
no of people died = no of people who were born - no of people living right now.,\nAll you have to do is figure out how many people were born, contact me and i'll let you know how many are alive and then, how many died.
501244
County register of deads
628449
Technically Alive but Practically Dead.He is in a state of Coma and the chances of his recovery back to normal are slim.
481042
nope, he's dead, but thanks for the points ; )
721292
He`s not dead...is he?
552104
A ghost is an alleged non-corporeal manifestation of a dead person (or, rarely, an animal, vehicle). It is often thought to be a manifestation of the spirit or soul of a person which has remained on Earth after death. According to some beliefs, a ghost may be the personality of a person after his or her death, and not directly tied to the soul or spirit. Every culture in the world carries stories about ghosts, though they often disagree as to what ghosts are and whether they are just figments of imagination or a part of reality.
911346
some says he is dead,i don't really know,
733955
Clinically dead means you have no vital signs. Legally dead -to receive a death certificate- is diagnosed as being brain dead-no brain activity- by a qualified physician
980471
"Killed" would be a proper term to use in a pugilistic death. "Murder", on the other hand, would be debatable. There are numerous laws, both state & federal, in the USA that effect whether or not a sports related death is held as an accident, or as a "homicide", be it intentional or non-intentional. "Killed" & "Murdered" are not the same. Well, not always.
562153
In some cases, there can be some growth of the nails and hair once the person has passed. They are fully dead, though. I suppose that hair and nails may still take advantage of the residual nutrients within the body. It's not an exaggerated growth, though.