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In law, medicine, and statistics, cause of death is an official determination of the conditions resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate. A cause of death is determined by a medical examiner. In rare cases, an autopsy needs to be performed by a pathologist.
Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two criteria necessary to sustain the lives of human beings and of many other organisms. [1] It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called cardiac arrest .
The human skull is used universally as a symbol of death. [1] Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. [2] The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. [3] Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms.
The definition of legal death, and its formal documentation in a death certificate, vary according to the jurisdiction. The certification applies to somatic death , corresponding to death of the person, which has varying definitions but most commonly describes a lack of vital signs and brain function. [ 9 ]
Most legal determinations of death in the developed world are made by medical professionals who pronounce death when specific criteria are met. [4] Two categories of legal death are death determined by irreversible cessation of heartbeat (cardiopulmonary death), and death determined by irreversible cessation of functions of the brain (brain death).
In contrast, a medical examiner is typically a physician who holds the degree of Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). Ideally, a medical examiner has completed both a pathology residency and a fellowship in forensic pathology. In some jurisdictions, a medical examiner must be both a doctor and a lawyer, with ...
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, [Note 1] or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; or the exam may be performed to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present for research or educational purposes.
Cause of death – the purpose of a forensic autopsy is to determine the cause of death, which is the condition or conditions officially determined to have resulted in a human's death. In modern times, such a determination usually is essential data on a governmental death certificate. Capital punishment. Death row; Coroner; Crimes related to death