Way We Die: Brain Death, Vegetative State, Euthanasia and Other End-of-Life Dilemmas

by Maureen Melrose, Maureen Melrose (Contribution by)

Overview

Rapid advances in modern medicine have revolutionized the way we think about death and the processes of dying. Once death was defined as the absence of respiration or heartbeat; today patients hooked up to a respirator and feeding tube can be kept alive for months or years. Ivan and Melrose carefully explain the various medical processes involved in death and dying. In doing so, they also confront the many ethical, moral, and legal dilemmas that face doctors today, as well as the decisions that must be made by relatives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788890196034
Publisher:	Pari Publishing
Publication date:	11/25/2007
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

Table of Contents

Prologue     17
Preface     19
Introduction and Acknowledgments     21
The Road to the Concept of Brain Death     25
Death as a biological process     25
The death of cells     26
The death of organs     27
A short history of the determination of death     28
From consciousness to coma     31
Consciousness     31
Coma     34
Coma and brain resuscitation     39
The diagnosis and management of coma     42
Brain Death     49
Evolution of the concept     49
An acceptable definition     53
Medical limitations     54
Controversies about the time of death     56
The law and the criteria of death     60
Irreversible coma and brain death     61
Brain death worldwide     65
Other Issues Related to Death     73
Dying with Dignity     73
The hospice concept and palliative core     74
The "right to die" movement and assisted suicide     77
The patient's rights     78
The doctor's obligation     81
The "Do not resuscitate" order     83
The Living Will     86
Organ Transplantation and the Time Sequence in Brain Death     91
Organ donation and transplantation protocols     98
CMA policy statement about transplantation     104
The Vegetative State     109
Definition     110
Historical evolution of the term and prevalence of the condition     111
Neuropathology     112
Diagnosis of the vegetative state     113
The natural course of PVS     115
Well known cases of vegetative state     117
Euthanasia     133
Definition     133
The roots and growth of the pro-euthanasia movement     135
The ethical roots of anti-euthanasia     137
Euthanasia and the law     140
Euthanasia and public opinion     146
The future of assisted death     148
Life After Death     157
Our concern with life after death     157
The near-death experience     160
The problem of mind, body and soul     165
Journals and abbreviations     175
Glossary of terms     179
Books     189
Journals     194
Internet resouces      201
Appendix A     207
World Medical Association Declaration on Death     207
Appendix B     209
Diagnosis of Death in U.K.     209
Appendix C     213
Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Brain Death     213
Appendix D     223
Uniform Determination of Death Act, USA     223
Appendix E     227
Euthanasia and assisted suicide (update 1998)     227