title: Brain death.
abstract: Mechanical ventilation frequently saves lives that are threatened by temporary respiratory failure; but when breathing stops due to irreversible brain damage ventilation only prolongs the process of dying, as organs serially cease to function. The possibility of extending from a few minutes to many days the interval between final failure of the brain and ultimate cardiac asystole emphasises that death is not an event, but a process.
mesh_terms: D001926:Brain Death; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology; D003128:Coma / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D008020:Life Support Care; D012021:Reflex, Abnormal; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis