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Death, the total cessation of life processes that eventually occurs in all living organisms. The state of human death has always been obscured by mystery and superstition, and its precise definition remains controversial, differing according to culture and legal systems.
Death should be thought of as the irreversible loss of such functions. The remainder of this article first explores the recurrent problems involved in seeking a biological definition of death. It then examines the implications of these problems in relation to human death.
BEREAVEMENT meaning: 1 : the state of being sad because a family member or friend has recently died; 2 : the death of a family member or friend
“Irreversible loss of function of the organism as a whole” became an accepted clinical criterion of death. Semantic confusion may underlie some of the controversies outlined in this section. In many languages, including English, the word death may be used in various ways.
People say that something is your loss when you choose not to do something that they think would help you or that you would enjoy.
Capital punishment, execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. The term ‘death penalty’ is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘capital punishment,’ though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by execution.
For thousands of years, various cultures have had figures to represent death. One of the most common and enduring of these is the Grim Reaper—usually a skeletal figure, who is often shrouded in a dark, hooded robe and carrying a scythe to “reap” human souls.
A person or animal that is put to death is killed at a scheduled time by someone who is legally allowed to do so.
Thanatology, the description or study of death and dying and the psychological mechanisms of dealing with them. Thanatology is concerned with the notion of death as popularly perceived and especially with the reactions of the dying, from whom it is felt much can be learned about dealing with
Black Death, pandemic that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, taking a proportionately greater toll of life than any other known epidemic or war up to that time. The Black Death is widely thought to have been the result of plague, caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis.