Abstract
Brain death (BD) is a by-product of the modern intensive care: since the report on coma depassé by Mollaret and Goulon in 19591 and the new criterion of death on neurological grounds published by the Harvard Medical School Ad Hoc Committee in 1968,2 both the definition and diagnostic of BD criteria have undergone a substantial evolution. Nowadays, most of the problems, dilemmas, and polemics raised in the past regarding the concept of BD, by terminological confusion, and by the grave responsibility of declaring dead a corpse with a still beating heart, are definitively overcome. However, despite the fact that BD is now widely accepted all over the world and regardless the certainty of its diagnosis when carefully formulated, its definition as well as diagnostic criteria are far from perfect and need further adjustments.
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Sonoo M, Tsai-Shozawa Y, Aoki M, Nakatani T, Hatanaka Y, Mochizuki A, et al. N18 in median somatosensory evoked potentials: a new indicator of medullary function useful for the diagnosis of brain death. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1999; 67 (3): 374–378.
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Facco, E., Machado, C. (2004). Evoked Potentials in the Diagnosis of Brain Death. In: Machado, C., Shewmon, D.A. (eds) Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 550. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48526-8_16
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