Why in medicine is human death very often called fatal? You will see the answer to this question in the submitted article.
Origin of the term
Surely the expression "death" was heard by absolutely everyone. But where did this statement come from and what is its true meaning?
The fact is that so many people believe that after death, a person’s soul literally flies out of his body. On this mystical assumption the expression "lethal outcome" is built. Moreover, a medical term such as “exitus letalis” is one of the existing options for the development of a disease. In other words, this phrase is used when, as a result of a long illness, the patient’s body cannot cope with the deviation that occurs, which leads to his death.
History of Expression
Historians argue that the term "death" began to be used in ancient Greece. This came from ethical considerations, as this expression was considered better than "death". However, those people who are familiar with Latin claim that the word “letalis” in the literal translation does not mean “lethal”, but “deadly”. Thus, the death of a person after a long illness is sometimes described as fatal.
Types of death
In medical practice, the following types of death are distinguished:
- clinical;
- biological;
- final.
There is also another subcategory - brain death.
Previous conditions
As a rule, a fatal outcome is always accompanied by terminal conditions such as predagonal, agony, and clinical death. They can last a different time. It should also be noted that, regardless of the rate of death, clinical death is always preceded. If the resuscitation measures of the hospital, ambulance or ordinary person were not carried out properly or were unsuccessful, then biological death occurs. As you know, this phenomenon is an irreversible and complete cessation of all physiological processes in the tissues of the nervous system and cells. Due to decomposition processes, further destruction of the whole organism occurs, as a result of which the structure of nerve connections is destroyed. This stage is called information death.
Death diagnosis
Fear of a possible mistake in the diagnosis of human death throughout the development of medicine pushed doctors to develop ways to recognize it. So, the biological death of the patient is ascertained by a complex of signs. To verify the lethal outcome, the deceased is checked for heart function, central nervous system and breathing.
It should also be noted that one of the most valuable and earliest signs of a person’s death is the so-called “cat-eye phenomenon”. In other words, the pupil of the deceased begins to significantly narrow and eventually becomes not round, but takes the form of an oval or stick.
In addition, the main factor in human death is muscle tone. So, when the nervous system stops working, the innervation of muscle tissue also stops.
The instruction on determining the criteria for the moment of death of a person provides a statement on the basis of the presence of cadaveric changes or the cessation of brain activity. It should also be noted that all resuscitation measures can be completely stopped only if they are ineffective for half an hour. Moreover, such procedures are not carried out if obvious signs of biological death are revealed, as well as clinical, which arose against the background of the progression of incurable diseases, the consequences of injuries, etc.