Why is the death of a person very often called a fatal outcome in medicine? You will see the answer to this question in the presented article.
Origin of the term
Surely absolutely everyone has heard the expression "fatal outcome". But where did this saying come from and what is its true meaning?
The fact is that many people believe that after death a person's soul literally flies out of his body. On this mystical assumption, the expression "fatal outcome" is built. Moreover, such a medical term as "exitus letalis" is one of the existing options for the development of any disease. In other words, this phrase is used when, as a result of a long-term illness, the patient's body cannot cope with the deviation that has arisen, which leads to his death.
History of expression
Historians claim that the term "fatal outcome" began to be used in ancient Greece. This was due to ethical considerations, since this expression was considered better than "death". However, those people who are familiar with Latin argue that the word "letalis" in literal translation does not mean "lethal", but "deadly". Thus, the death of a person after a longillness is sometimes described as fatal.
Types of death
In medical practice, the following types of death are distinguished:
- clinical;
- biological;
- final.
There is also another sub-category, brain death.
Previous states
As a rule, death is always accompanied by such terminal states as preagonal, agony and clinical death. They may take different times. It should also be noted that, regardless of the speed, a lethal outcome is always preceded by clinical death. If the resuscitation measures of the hospital staff, ambulance or ordinary person were not carried out properly or were unsuccessful, then biological death occurs. As is known, such a phenomenon is an irreversible and complete cessation of all physiological processes in the tissues of the nervous system and cells. Due to decomposition processes, the whole organism is subsequently destroyed, as a result of which the structure of nerve connections is destroyed. This stage is usually called informational death.
Diagnosis of death
Fear of a possible error in diagnosing a person's death throughout the development of medicine pushed doctors to develop ways to recognize it. Thus, the biological death of a patient is ascertained by a set of signs. To ascertain the death, the deceased is checked for the work of the heart, central nervous system and breathing.
It should also be noted thatone of the most valuable and early signs of a person's death is the so-called "cat's eye phenomenon". In other words, the pupil of the deceased begins to noticeably narrow and eventually becomes not round, but takes on the shape of an oval or stick.
Besides this, the main factor in human death is muscle tone. So, when the nervous system stops working, the innervation of muscle tissues also stops.
The instruction for determining the criteria for the moment of death of a person provides for a statement based on the presence of cadaveric changes or the cessation of brain activity. It should also be noted that all resuscitation measures can be completely stopped only if they are ineffective for half an hour. Moreover, such procedures are not carried out if there are clear signs of biological death, as well as clinical death, which arose against the background of the progression of incurable diseases, the consequences of injuries, etc.
