brain death
nounDefinition of brain death
: final cessation of activity in the central nervous system especially as indicated by a flat electroencephalogram for a predetermined length of time
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Examples of brain death in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Because time is crucial between legal death and brain death, Suspended Animation, a Boynton Beach company, operates the cryomobile. — Cindy Krischer Goodman, sun-sentinel.com, "Frozen for eternity: Can you really cheat death?," 26 July 2019 In Pennsylvania and most other states, a patient who suffers from complete, irreversible brain death may be declared legally dead and removed from life support. — Tom Avril, Philly.com, "CHOP physicians testify in court that N.J. boy is 'brain-dead'," 9 May 2018 He or she must be hospitalized and on life support, usually due to an unexpected illness or accident, such as a brain aneurysm, stroke or severe head trauma leading to brain death. — WSJ, "Slippery Slope of Human Organ Harvesting," 21 June 2019 Now, the American Academy of Neurology maintains a checklist that clinicians use to judge brain death in patients. — Michael Greshko, National Geographic, "Pig brains partially revived hours after death—what it means for people," 17 Apr. 2019 In both cases, the boys were deprived of oxygen to the extent that Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia reached a grim diagnosis: brain death. — Tom Avril, Philly.com, "At CHOP, two boys were diagnosed with brain death. Here's what that means," 24 May 2018 Jahi McMath, the Oakland, Calif., teenager whose brain death made national news after her family refused to accept the ruling and fought to keep her on a ventilator, died June 22, a family attorney said. — Breanna Edwards, The Root, "Jahi McMath, Teen Who Was Declared Brain-Dead Almost 5 Years Ago, Has Died," 29 June 2018 Under state law, if a patient’s faith dictates that life persists so long as the heart is beating, then brain death alone is not sufficient for a legal declaration of death. — Mari A. Schaefer, Philly.com, "Declared brain dead almost 5 years ago, Calif. teen's life finally ends in N.J.," 29 June 2018 The congregation at Acts Full Gospel Church in Oakland gave Winkfield a standing ovation on Friday for fighting to keep her daughter on life support and taking on the medical establishment in the brain death debate between science and religion. — NBC News, "'They are not God': Mother of girl declared dead twice criticizes doctors," 9 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brain death.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for brain death
brain death
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of brain death
medical
: the condition of having no brain function : the end of activity in the brain
See the full definition for brain death in the English Language Learners Dictionary
brain death
nounMedical Definition of brain death
: final cessation of activity in the central nervous system especially as indicated by a flat electroencephalogram for a predetermined length of time
brain death
noun
\ ˈbrān-ˌdeth\
Legal Definition of brain death
: the final stopping of activity in the central nervous system especially as indicated by a flat electroencephalogram for a usually statutorily predetermined period of time
Other Words from brain death
brain-dead
\ ˈbrān-ˌded 
\
adjective
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adjective