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Diagnosis of Brain Death

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Neurocritical Care

Abstract

Until recently, death was defined only as irreversible cardiopulmonary arrest. However, advances in medical technology, such as pulmonary ventilation, advanced cardiac resuscitation, and pharmaceutics, have created the ability to maintain cardiopulmonary function artificially, even in patients who do not recover any brain function. This situation has led to the concept of brain death as a new definition of death. Additionally, the concept allows the transplantation of viable organs.

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Authors
  1. Michael N. Diringer
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  2. Thorsten Steiner
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  3. Heinz Angstwurm
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Werner Hacke M.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  2. Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 North Wall Street, 21205, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Daniel F. Hanley M.D. (Associate Professor, Director Neuroscience Critical) (Associate Professor, Director Neuroscience Critical)

  3. Department of Neurology, Humboldt University Berlin, Schumannstr. 20/21, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Karl M. Einhäupl M.D. (Professor and Chairman, Charité) (Professor and Chairman, Charité)

  4. Department of Neurology, Medical Center, University of Virginia, Box 394, 22908, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Thomas P. Bleck M.D. (Associate Professor) (Associate Professor)

  5. Department of Neurology, Washington University, Medical Center, 660 South Euclid Avenue, P.O. Box 8111, 63110, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Michael N. Diringer M.D. (Assistant Professor) (Assistant Professor)

  6. Department of Neurology, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, 32 Fruit Street, 02114, Boston, MA, USA

    Allan H. Ropper M.D. (Professor of Neurology) (Professor of Neurology)

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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Diringer, M.N., Steiner, T., Angstwurm, H. (1994). Diagnosis of Brain Death. In: Hacke, W., Hanley, D.F., Einhäupl, K.M., Bleck, T.P., Diringer, M.N., Ropper, A.H. (eds) Neurocritical Care. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-87602-8_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-87602-8_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-87604-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-87602-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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