Brain stem death symptoms- medicalloe

Brain stem death: symptoms

On TV you hear the term vegetative state and coma and brain death all the time in medical shows but what do these terms actually mean hey there brainiacs trace here for dnews for non-medical people the

terms vegetative state coma and brain-dead are used interchangeably but they are not synonymous and there are very important distinctions people in a vegetative state still have a functioning brain stem meaning their body is essentially on autopilot they can breathe on their own have a sleep-wake cycle and react to some stimuli
but they can't hold a conversation or take in their environment neurologists define consciousness by wakefulness and awareness and people in a vegetative state are awake but unaware people in a coma on the other hand are not awake or aware comas can happen either if their cerebral hemispheres aren't working or if the reticular activating system the part of the brainstem responsible for wakefulness is damaged then people enter a state of deep unconsciousness
like the most hardcore nap ever taken still under the surface though their brain is at a minimum sending out some signals it's possible to recover from a coma into a vegetative state and then regain awareness unfortunately it is also possible to progress from a coma to a state where all neural activity ceases and the brain no longer has any input on the body's function this is called brain death brain death does have another name in the medical community death someone in a vegetative state or a coma is still considered alive but brain death is irreversible so doctors go through
 a series of tests known as the brain death examination before officially determining that person is in fact brain dead these tests look for any brain function even the most basic brainstem reflexes if the patient fails them they are considered legally dead sure they can have the semblance of life thanks to life support which in this context is kind of an ironic name but a brain dead person cannot live long without assistance pacemaker cells in a person's heart can continue to function
 independent of the brain for up to a week meaning that blood can keep pumping but the brain stem is responsible for keeping breathing going even when you're not thinking about it your brain is regulating your breathing though you're probably all thinking about it now complete cessation of neural activity means even that basic function of operating the lungs stops within minutes co2 levels in the blood will be fatal a person in a coma would reflexively gasp for air but a brain-dead person would not the brain regulates a host of other functions unconsciously - like body temperature
and blood pressure and it is in charge of hormones that control your metabolism immune system and specific organs like your kidneys keeping a person's body going after brain death requires a ventilator blankets and hormones that's a lot of outside effort to handle the most basic work of the meatball between your ears it makes you appreciate everything that that little guy is up to thanks brain your brain is pretty vital for that whole staying alive thing so how much of it can you lose and
still not die Julian covers just how much of your brain is expendable here if you have more brain to work with losing parts of it aren't as severe because of the brain's ability to rewire itself people have lived mostly normal lives with large bits of brain totally absent like a woman in China who was born without a cerebellum a little cauliflower looking bit at the back of your brain that controls voluntary movement what else would you like to know about the brain let us know in the comments and don't forget to subscribe so you get more dnews.