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Understanding the Bishop's Tripod of Life

The document discusses the concept of death, defining it as the cessation of life and outlining its types, including somatic and molecular death. It details the diagnosis of death through brain death and brainstem death criteria, as well as the phenomenon of apparent death. Additionally, it covers the mode, manner, mechanism, and cause of death, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject.

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8 views11 pages

Understanding the Bishop's Tripod of Life

The document discusses the concept of death, defining it as the cessation of life and outlining its types, including somatic and molecular death. It details the diagnosis of death through brain death and brainstem death criteria, as well as the phenomenon of apparent death. Additionally, it covers the mode, manner, mechanism, and cause of death, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject.

Uploaded by

devanap906
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

• Thanatos: death

• Logos: science
• Study that deals with death and its aspects
Death
• Cessation of life
• Irreversible state of unconsciousness
• Permanent or irreversible cessation of vital
systems (respiration, circulation, nervous
system function) of the body (Bishop’s tripod
of life)
Types of death
• Somatic death: stoppage of any one
component of Bishop’s tripod of life

• Molecular death: stoppage of molecular


activity within the cell 2-3 hours after somatic
death
Diagnosis of death
• Brain death
• Brainstem death
Brain death
• Persistent vegetative state: cortex alone is damaged
• Diagnosed by Harvard criteria:
Unresponsivity
No movement
Apnea at least for an hour
Absence of reflexes
Irreversible coma
Iso-electric EEG (confirmatory)
 All the tests repeated after 24 hours
Brainstem death
• Diagnosed by Minnesota criteria:
No spontaneous movement
No spontaneous respiration for 4 minutes
Absence of brainstem reflexes (pupillary,
corneal, grimace, gag, oculo-vestibular/ doll’e
eyes)
Apnea test (ventilator disconnected for 5-10
mins)
Repeated after 12 hours
Apparent death
• Suspended animation/ death trance
• Minimal signs of life
• Not detected by routine clinical methods
• Appears dead but is not dead
• Conditions: Yoga practitioners (voluntary),
newborn (most common), heat stroke,
hypothermia, hanging, drowning,
electrocution etc.
Mode of death
• Abnormal physiological state at the time of
death
• Gordon’s postulates:
1) Asphyxia (failure of respiration)
2) Coma (failure of brain function)
3) Syncope (failure of circulation)
Manner of death
• Way/ circumstance in which the cause of
death came into effect
1) Natural
2) Unnatural: suicidal, accidental, homicidal
Mechanism of death
• Physiological derangement or biochemical
disturbance in relation to death
• Metabolic acidosis, metabolic alkalosis, etc
Cause of death
• Injury/ disease leading to death
1) Immediate
2) Antecedant
3) Contributory

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