Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Brainstem death is a clinical syndrome defined by the absence of reflexes with pathways through the brainstem – the "stalk" of the brain, which connects the spinal cord to the mid-brain, cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres – in a deeply comatose, ventilator-dependent patient.
The test is commonly used by physicians, audiologists and other trained professionals to validate a diagnosis of asymmetric function in the peripheral vestibular system. Calorics are usually a subtest of the electronystagmography (ENG) battery of tests. It is one of several tests which can be used to test for brain stem death.
Per the United Kingdom Medical Royal Colleges, a diagnosis of brain death is a two-fold process including 1) identifying the cause of irreversible brain damage and excluding reversible causes of brain damage and 2) conducting a series of clinical and laboratory tests to assess brain stem function. [7] [8]
Brain death is used as an indicator of legal death in many jurisdictions, [6] but it is defined inconsistently and often confused by the public. [7] Various parts of the brain may keep functioning when others do not anymore, and the term "brain death" has been used to refer to various combinations.
In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. [1] The midbrain is continuous with the thalamus of the diencephalon through the tentorial notch, and sometimes the diencephalon is included in the brainstem. [2] The brainstem is very small, making up around only 2.6 percent of the brain's total ...
Brain death is one of the deciding factors when pronouncing a trauma patient as dead. Determining function and presence of necrosis after trauma to the whole brain or brain-stem may be used to determine brain death, and is used in many states in the US. [19] [20]
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
The brain stem is involved in maintaining basic life functions such as breathing, swallowing, and circulation; the basal ganglia and cerebellum control movement and balance. Damage to these areas therefore results in the major symptoms of Leigh syndrome—loss of control over functions controlled by these areas.