to Examine the Definition

This landmark classic article was the first to quantitatively define the clinical and laboratory criteria used to measure the presence of brain death. The study included “only those comatose individuals who have no discernible central nervous system activity. ” Criteria to establish the presence of irreversible coma included (1) unreceptivity and unresponsitivity; (2) no movements or breathing; (3) no reflexes (brain stem); and (4) flat electroencephalogram. These criteria are still considered to be reliable and acceptable by the medical community and have become established into law, which states that brain death is equivalent to death and that all artificial support systems sustaining heart, respiratory, and metabolic functions can be legally stopped. See www.jama.com for full text of the original JAMA article. Commentary by Roger N. Rosenberg, M