NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Died

Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism or the state of the organism after that event. Life is a multi-faceted concept. ... In biology and ecology, an organism (in Greek organon = instrument) is a complex adaptive system of organs that influence each other in such a way that they function as a more or less stable whole and have properties of life. ...

Interpretations of "death"

In almost all societies, death has one or several symbols associated with it. Common symbols of death in Western cultures include the grim reaper and the color black; conversely, in certain Eastern cultures, the color white is considered symbolic of death. The grave is a metonym for death. Death, personified is a personification of death as an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character, who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. ... Grave has multiple meanings: A grave (IPA: ) is a place for the dead, see tomb, burial, grave (burial) A grave accent (IPA: ) is a type of diacritical mark (as in French crÃ¨me de la crÃ¨me). ... In rhetoric and cognitive linguistics, metonymy (in Greek meta = after/later and onoma = name) is the use of a single characteristic to identify a more complex entity. ...

Biologically, death can occur to wholes, to parts of wholes, or to both. For example, it is possible for individual cells and even organs to die, and yet for the organism as a whole to continue to live; many individual cells can live for only a short time, and so most of an organism's cells are continually dying and being replaced by new ones. Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms, and are sometimes called the building blocks of life. ... In biology, an organ (Latin: organum, instrument, tool) is a group of tissues, which perform a specific function or group of functions. ...

Conversely, when organisms die their cells can live for some time afterward. Organs, for instance, can be removed for transplantation. They must be removed and transplanted quickly, or they too will soon die without the support of their host. Rarely, cell cultures can be "immortal" as in the case of Henrietta Lacks' HeLa cell line. An organ transplant is the transplantation of a whole or partial organ from one body to another, for the purpose of replacing the recipients damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor. ... Henrietta Lacks (1920â€“1951) HeLa cells Henrietta Lacks (1920â€“1951) was the involuntary donor of cells from a cancerous tumor, which were cultured by George Gey to create a cell line for medical research, which is now known as the HeLa cell line. ... Hela is also the German name for Hel, Poland and the cruiser SMS Hela In biological and medical research, a HeLa cell is a cell which is derived from cervical cancer cells taken from a woman named Henrietta Lacks, who died from the cancer in 1951, and circulated (without Lacks...

Fingernails and hair appear to grow after a person's death, as, due to bodily dehydration, the flesh pulls away from the hair and nails. In ancient times, this led to confusion about whether a body was actually dead, and added to the myth of vampires. This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Irreversibility is often cited as a key feature of death. By definition, a dead organism cannot be brought back to life; if it were to be, that would indicate that it had never been dead. Nonetheless, many people do not believe that death is necessarily irreversible; thus some have a religious belief in bodily or spiritual resurrection, while others have hope for the eventual prospects of cryonics or other technological means of reversing what is currently thought of as death. The origins of the word religion have been debated for centuries. ... Resurrection of the Flesh (1499-1502) Fresco by Luca Signorelli Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto Resurrection is most commonly associated with the consisting of the reuniting of the spirit and the body of an individual, or the raising of a person from death back to life. ... This bigfoot Dewar flask is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius. ...

It has been hypothesized that a limited lifespan is a consequence of evolution not selecting for extreme longevity in most species, as evolutionary selection only need apply to the organism up to the point of reproduction; after that, except for caring for kin, the continued existence of an individual can have little effect on the survival of its gene line. A common assumption is that the Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates that all complex systems must eventually deteriorate, so it is not likely that any species could ever be immortal. However, this aspect of the Second Law of Thermodynamics only applies to closed systems, which organisms are not. A phylogenetic tree of all living things, based on rRNA gene data, showing the separation of the three domains, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, as described initially by Carl Woese. ... Longevity is long life or existence. ... The most concise statement of the second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of any isolated thermodynamic system tends to increase over time, approaching a maximum value. ... Immortal can refer to: Immortality The Eight Immortals of Taoism The Immortal game a chess game played by Adolf Anderssen against Dufresne Immortal (band) Immortal (game) Immortal (cell line) Persian Immortals (ancient Persian elite troops) Immortal, the English title of the French film, Immortel (Ad Vitam) This is a disambiguation... An open system can be influenced by events outside of the declared boundaries of the system. ...

Ways of defining human death: medical, religious, and legal

Human death can be defined by three dramatically different but overlapping domains: medical, religious, and legal. These different domains and their importance have evolved over time and can vary from person to person. So when talking about death, it is important to differentiate which domain we are speaking of and to have a general understanding of how each defines death. See drugs, medication, and pharmacology for substances that are used to treat patients. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... This article is about law in society. ...

There are various ways of defining medical death. Early in western culture, death was connected to the heart first and then later the lungs. When these stopped working, a person was dead. It was sometime later that the brain came into the definition. In 1963 a device called an electroencephalogram (EEG) was invented that could very accurately measure the electrical output of the brain. The test showed that when the machine registered zero electrical output from a person's brain (also known as a flat EEG) for 36 hours, the patient could be considered dead. We now know that a person can continue to be medically alive until their brain stem dies. Patients in a persistent vegetative state still have an active brain stem. The heart and lungs (from an older edition of Grays Anatomy) The heart (Latin cor) is a hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. ... The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ... Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic exploration of the electrical activity of the brain by the application of electrodes to the scalp. ... Where is it? The term brain stem refers to a composite substructure of the brain. ... A persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness. ...

Legally, a person can be pronounced dead in three different ways. By far the most common is pronouncement by a medical doctor. The second most common is pronouncement by a coroner or a state medical examiner. The third way a person can be pronounced legally dead is by the courts; after a person has disappeared for some time, the courts will pronounce them dead so that their property can be distributed appropriately. A death certificate is a legal document which states how and when a person died, and who pronounced them dead. A coroner is the presiding officer of a special court to investigate deaths that occur under unusual circumstances where conventional criminal proceedings are not immediately called for. ... A coroner is the presiding officer of a special court to investigate deaths that occur under unusual circumstances where conventional criminal proceedings are not immediately called for. ...

In religous terms, death is believed to refer to the departure from the body of the soul, or essence.

When is a person dead?

The definition of death continues to evolve. One cutting-edge effort encourages a global dialogue. See International Network for the Definition of Death http://www.changesurfer.com/BD/

Identifying the exact moment of death is important for a number of reasons. It allows for the correct time on death certificates, and helps ensure that a person's will is enacted only after they are truly deceased. In particular, identifying the moment of death is important in cases of transplantation, as organs must be harvested as quickly as possible after death. An organ transplant is the transplantation of an organ (or part of one) from one body to another, for the purpose of replacing the recipients damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor. ...

Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of death have been problematic. Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, for example, but the development of CPR and early defibrillation posed a challenge: either the definition of death was incorrect, or techniques had been discovered that really allowed one to reverse death (because, in some cases, breathing and heartbeat can be restarted). Generally, the first option was chosen. (Today this definition of death is known as "clinical death".) The heart and lungs (from an older edition of Grays Anatomy) The heart (Latin cor) is a hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. ... For the play Breath by Samuel Beckett, see Breath (play). ... Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), is emergency first aid for an unconscious person on whom breathing and pulse cannot be detected. ... Typical view of the defibrillator operator. ... A cardiac arrest is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract effectively during systole. ...

Today, where a definition of the moment of death is required, doctors and coroners usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death": people are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases (cf. persistent vegetative state). It is presumed that a stoppage of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness. Brain death is defined as a complete and irreversible cessation of brain activity. ... A persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ...

Brain activity is a necessary condition to legal personhood, and, perhaps with the exception of the fetus, it is a sufficient condition for legal personhood. "It appears that once brain death has been determined … no criminal or civil liability will result from disconnecting the life-support devices." Dority v. Superior Court of San Bernardino County, 193 Cal.Rptr. 288, 291 (1983) Fetus at eight weeks Foetus redirects here. ...

However, those maintaining that only the neo-cortex of the brain is necessary for consciousness sometimes argue that only electrical activity there should be considered when defining death. In most places the more conservative definition of death (cessation of electrical activity in the whole brain, as opposed to just in the neo-cortex) has been adopted (for example the Uniform Determination Of Death Act in the United States). In 2005, the case of Terri Schiavo brought the question of brain-death and artificial sustainment to the front of American politics. However, in all cases the common cause of death is anoxia. In the anatomy of animals, the neopallium or neocortex is a part of the telencephalon in the brain. ... The Uniform Definition of Death Act was a law proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to define the legal meaning of death. ... Theresa Marie Terri Schiavo (December 3, 1963â€“March 31, 2005) was a woman from St. ... Asphyxia is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body. ...

Even in these cases, the determination of death can be difficult. EEGs can detect spurious electrical impulses when none exists, while there have been cases in which electrical activity in a living brain has been too low for EEGs to detect. Because of this, hospitals often have elaborate protocols for determining death involving EEGs at widely separated intervals.

Medical history contains many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and coming back to life, sometimes days later in their own coffin or when embalming procedures are about to get underway. Stories of people actually being buried alive (which must assume embalming has not occurred) led at least one inventor in the early 20th century to design an alarm system that could be activated from within the coffin. Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science used to temporarily preserve human remains to forestall decomposition and make it suitable for display at a funeral. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Because of the difficulties in determining death, under most emergency protocols, a first responder is not authorized to pronounce a patient dead; some EMT training manuals, for example, specifically state that a person is not to be assumed dead unless there are clear and obvious indications that death has occurred, such as mortal decapitation, rigor mortis (the stiffening of the body), livor mortis (blood pooling in the lowest part of the body), decomposition, or incineration. If there is any possibility of life and in the absence of a do not resuscitate order, emergency workers must begin rescue and not end it until a patient has been brought to a hospital to be examined by a physician. This frequently leads to situation of a patient being pronounced dead on arrival. First responder is a term used by national authorities for local law enforcement, local Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), local firemen and fire rescue. ... Beheadingâ€”Facsimile of a Miniature on Wood in the Cosmographie Universelle of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552. ... Rigor mortis is a recognizable sign of death that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff (rigor) and impossible to move or manipulate. ... Livor mortis or postmortem lividity, one of the signs of death, is a settling of the blood in the lower (dependent) portion of the body, causing a purplish red discoloration of the skin: when the heart is no longer agitating the blood, heavy red blood cells sink through the serum... A DNR, or Do Not Resuscitate order, is a written order from a doctor that resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest. ... Dead on arrival or DOA is a notation that a patient was brought to a hospital and immediately pronounced dead by a physician. ...

Cause of death in the United States

The cause of death varies by area and age group. In 2002 in the U.S. the top 10 causes of death were:

There are different forms of heart disease: Coronary heart disease Ischaemic heart disease Cardiovascular disease The study of the heart (and diseases of the heart) is Cardiology This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... When normal cells are damaged or old they undergo apoptosis; cancer cells, however, avoid apoptosis. ... A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is suddenly interrupted. ... ... An accident is something going wrong unexpectedly. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... Negatively stained flu virions. ... Pneumonia fills the lungs alveoli with fluid, keeping oxygen from reaching the bloodstream. ... Nephritis is inflammation of the kidney. ... Nephrosis is an old term for one of many non-inflammatory diseases of the kidneys. ... Sepsis (in Greek Σήψις) is a serious medical condition caused by a severe systemic infection leading to a systemic inflammatory response. ...

Other notable causes of death in the United States (2002)

Statistical data from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Death Penalty Information Center National Right To Life, and The Alan Guttmacher Institute An abortion is the termination of a pregnancy associated with the death of an embryo or a fetus. ... Throughout history, induced abortions have been a source of considerable debate and controversy. ... Fetus at eight weeks Foetus redirects here. ... A zygote (Greek: Î¶Ï…Î³Ï‰Ï„ÏŒÎ½) is a cell that is the result of fertilization. ...

What happens to humans after death?

The second question is of what, apart from the cessation of metabolism and the onset of physiological processes of decay, happens, especially to humans, during and after death (or "once dead", thinking of death as a permanent state). In particular, there is the question of what becomes of consciousness or the soul. Such questions are of long standing, and belief in an afterlife (such as an underworld), or in reincarnation, are common and ancient. The belief that any and all consciousness ceases to exist at death, and that death ("after-life") itself is ultimately the exact same experience as prior to conception ("before life"), is common in atheism/agnosticism. Conversely, religious belief in and information about an afterlife is a consolation in connection with the death of a beloved one or the prospect of one's own death. On the other hand, fear of hell or other negative consequences may make death worse. Human contemplation about death is an important motivation for the development of organized religion. Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... The soul according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance â€” spirit (Hebrew:rooah or nefesh) â€” particular to a unique living being. ... The afterlife (or life after death) is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual and experiential, beyond this world, or after death. ... Underworld relief - an artists depiction of where dead souls go. ... Past Lives redirects here. ... Atheism, in its broadest sense, is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods, thus contrasting with theism. ... Agnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth values of certain claimsâ€”particularly theological claims regarding the existence of God, gods, or deitiesâ€”are unknown, inherently unknowable, or incoherent, and therefore, (some agnostics may go as far to say) irrelevant to life. ... Medieval illustration of the Mouth of Hell Hell is, according to many religious beliefs, a place or a state of painful suffering. ...

Traditions exist across most cultures to mourn the death of loved ones. Many archaeologists feel that the careful burials among Homo neanderthalensis, where ochre ornamented bodies were laid in carefully dug graves, is evidence of ritualised burial. This may indicate early religious belief which, furthermore, might include a concept of an afterlife. Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (in the Middle Palaeolithic, early Stone Age). ... Ochre or Ocher (pronounced OAK-ur, from the Greek ochros, yellow) is a color, usually described as golden-yellow or light yellow brown. ... Ancient unreadable gravestones mark the position of graves in the parish churchyard at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England A grave is a place where the body of a dead animal, generally human, is buried, often after a funeral. ... A ritual is a formalised, predetermined set of symbolic actions generally performed in a particular environment at a regular, recurring interval. ... The afterlife (or life after death) is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual and experiential, beyond this world, or after death. ...

Physiological consequences of human death

For the human body, the physiological consequences of death follow a recognized sequence through early changes into bloating, then decay to changes after decay and finally skeletal remains. Bloating is any abnormal general swelling, or increase in diameter of the abdominal area. ...

The changes in the immediate post-death stage have received the most attention for two reasons—firstly it is the stage mostly likely to be seen by the living and secondly because of the research of forensics in potential crimes. Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system. ...

Soon after death (15–120 minutes depending on various factors), the body begins to cool (algor mortis), becomes pallid (pallor mortis), and internal sphincter muscles relax, leading to the release of urine, feces, and stomach contents if the body is moved. The blood moves to pool in the lowest parts of the body, livor mortis (dependent lividity), within 30 minutes and then begins to coagulate. The body experiences muscle stiffening (rigor mortis) which peaks at around 12 hours after death and is gone in another 24, depending on temperature. Within a day, the body starts to show signs of decomposition (decay), both autolytic changes and from 'attacking' organisms—bacteria, fungi, insects, mammalian scavengers, etc. Internally, the body structures begin to collapse, the skin loses integration with the underlying tissues, and bacterial action creates gases which cause bloating and swelling. The rate of decay is enormously variable; a body can be reduced to skeletal remains in days, or remain largely intact for thousands of years. Algor mortis (Latin: algorâ€”coolness; mortisâ€”death) is the reduction in body temperature following death. ... Pallor mortis: A postmortem paleness which happens almost instantaneously due to a lack of capilary circulation throughout the body. ... Urine is liquid waste excreted by the kidneys and eventually expelled from the body in a process known as urination. ... Rabbit feces are usually 0. ... The stomach (Gaster) In anatomy, the stomach (in ancient Greek ÏƒÏ„ÏŒÎ¼Î±Ï‡Î¿Ï‚) is an organ in the alimentary canal used to digest food. ... Livor mortis or postmortem lividity, one of the signs of death, is a settling of the blood in the lower (dependent) portion of the body, causing a purplish red discoloration of the skin: when the heart is no longer agitating the blood, heavy red blood cells sink through the serum... Rigor mortis is a recognizable sign of death that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff (rigor) and impossible to move or manipulate. ... This article is in need of attention, please see the talk page. ... Decomposition is the reduction of bodies and other formerly living organisms into simpler forms of matter; and most particularly to the fate of the body, after death. ... In chemistry, autolysis is the production of a substance which catalyses the reaction it was made in, or catalyzes its own transformation into another compound. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Infraclass: Paleoptera (paraphyletic) Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Protodonata - extinct Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Protorthoptera - extinct Orthoptera (grasshoppers... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Placentalia Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes (extinct) Primates Proboscidea Rodentia Scandentia Sirenia Taeniodonta...

Settlement of dead human bodies

In most cultures, before the onset of significant decay, the body undergoes some type of ritual disposal, usually either cremation or deposition in a tomb that is often a hole in the ground called a grave, but may also be a sarcophagus, crypt, sepulchre, or ossuary, a mound or barrow, or a monumental surface structure such as a mausoleum (exemplified by the Taj Mahal). The crematorium at Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ... A tomb is a small building (or vault) for the remains of the dead, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. ... Grave has multiple meanings: A grave (IPA: ) is a place for the dead, see tomb, burial, grave (burial) A grave accent (IPA: ) is a type of diacritical mark (as in French crÃ¨me de la crÃ¨me). ... Stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Merenptah A sarcophagus is a stone container for a coffin or body. ... Crypt is also a commonly used name of water trumpets, aquatic plants. ... A sepulchre (also spelled sepulcher) is a burial chamber. ... An ossuary is a chest, building, well or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. ... A mausoleum is a large and impressive tomb, usually constructed for a deceased leader. ... The Taj Mahal. ...

In Tibet, one method of corpse disposal is sky burial, which involves placing the body of the deceased on high ground (a mountain) and leaving it for birds of prey to dispose of. Sometimes this is because in some religious views, birds of prey are carriers of the soul to the heavens, but at other times this simply reflects the fact that when terrain (as in Tibet) makes the ground too hard to dig, there are few trees around to burn and the local religion (Buddhism) believes that the body after death is only an empty shell, there are more practical ways of disposing of a body, such as leaving it for animals to consume. On the other hand, in certain cultures, efforts are made to retard the decay processes before burial (resulting even in the retardation of decay processes after the burial), as in mummification or embalming. This happens during or after a funeral ceremony. Many funeral customs exist in different cultures. In some fishing or navy communities, the body is sent into the water aquatic burial. Several mountain villages have a tradition of hanging the coffin in woods. Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: à½–à½¼à½‘à¼‹, Bod, pronounced pÃ¶ in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: è¥¿è—, pinyin: XÄ«zÃ ng or è—åŒº ZÃ ngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the... Sky burial is a ritual practice common in Tibet that involves placing the body of the deceased in a high ground (mountain) and expose it ritually, especially to birds of prey. ... Mount McKinley in Alaska has one of the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Orders Accipitriformes Cathartidae Pandionidae Accipitridae Sagittariidae Falconiformes Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... The soul according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance â€” spirit (Hebrew:rooah or nefesh) â€” particular to a unique living being. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: à½–à½¼à½‘à¼‹, Bod, pronounced pÃ¶ in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: è¥¿è—, pinyin: XÄ«zÃ ng or è—åŒº ZÃ ngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found from Sarnath, near Varanasi Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BC. Buddhism gradually spread from India... The word mummification has more than one meaning: The process of preparing a dead body for preservation; or the preservation of a body through natural processes; see: Mummy The practice of restraining a living body as part of a sexual bondage experience: see mummification (bondage). ... Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science used to temporarily preserve human remains to forestall decomposition and make it suitable for display at a funeral. ... Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea A funeral is a ceremony marking a persons death. ... Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea A funeral is a ceremony marking a persons death. ...

A new alternative is ecological burial. This is a sequence of deep-freezing, pulverisation by vibration, freeze-drying, removing metals, and burying the resulting powder, which has 30% of the body mass. Ecological burial is a method of disposing of a corpse that produces less environmental disruption than a conventional burial. ... Freeze drying (blue arrow) brings the system around the triple point, avoiding the direct liquid-gas transition seen in ordinary drying (green arrow). ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ...

Space burial is also talked about, using rocket to launch part of the cremated body. Taurus Missile launch (Time Exposure) Space burial is a burial procedure where a small sample of the cremated ashes of the deceased in a lipstick sized capsule are launched into space using a rocket. ...

Graves are usually grouped together in a plot of land called a cemetery or graveyard, and burials can be arranged by a funeral home, mortuary , undertaker or by a religious body such as a church or (for some Jews) the community's Burial Society, a charitable or voluntary body charged with these duties. Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery or graveyard is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... A funeral home is a place where a funeral is arranged. ... A mortuary is a cold chamber used to keep the deceased from seriously decomposing; this practice exists for the sake of recognition of the deceased and to allow time to prepare for burial. ... This article is about the vocation of a mortician and the death metal band; for the World Wrestling Entertainment superstar, see The Undertaker. ... A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ...

Personification of death

Main article: Death (personification) Death, personified is a personification of death as an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character, who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. ...

Death is also a mythological figure who has existed in popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. The traditional Western image of Death, known as the Grim Reaper - usually resembling a skeleton, wearing black robes and carrying a scythe - is employed on a tarot card and in various television shows and films. Some examples: Death, personified is a personification of death as an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character, who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. ... The word mythology (from the Greek Î¼Ï…Ï‘Î¿Î»Î¿Î³Î¯Î± mythologÃa, from Î¼Ï…Ï‘Î¿Î»Î¿Î³ÎµÎ¹Î½ mythologein to relate myths, from Î¼Ï…Ï‘Î¿Ï‚ mythos, meaning a narrative, and Î»Î¿Î³Î¿Ï‚ logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths â€“ stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... Death, personified is an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. ... Using a scythe A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing and reaping grass or crops. ... As discussed in more detail below, the Tarot is usually a deck of 78 cards composed of: the major arcana, consisting of 21 trump cards and the Fool card; the minor arcana consisting of 56 cards: ten cards numbered from Ace to 10 in four different suits; traditionally batons (wands... Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. ...

Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... The Discworld is a series of 35 novels and a number of shorter works by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld. ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE is an English fantasy author (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Bucks), best known for his Discworld series. ... Spoiler warning: Death as illustrated by Chris Bachalo. ... Neil Gaiman (November 2004) Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960 in Portchester, England) is an English Jewish author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many comic books. ... Cover of The Sandman #1, by Dave McKean. ... Ingmar Bergman Ingmar Bergman â–¶(?) (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA in Unicode notation) (born July 14, 1918) is a Swedish stage and film director who is one of the key film auteurs of the second half of the twentieth century. ... Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) is a 1957 film directed by Ingmar Bergman, most notable for the scene in which a medieval knight (played by Max von Sydow) plays chess with the personification of Death, with his life resting on the outcome of the game. ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... This is a listing of television programs. ... Family Guy is an animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for FOX in 1999. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... This article is on The Sims video game. ... Meet Joe Black is a 1998 remake of the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. ... DVD cover Bill & Teds Bogus Journey is a 1991 American comedy science fiction film, the sequel to Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure. ... Dead Like Me is a Showtime television comedy-drama created by Bryan Fuller about a group of grim reapers in Seattle, Washington, USA. The stories are told through the eyes of eighteen-year-old girl George Lass, who died and became a grim reaper in the pilot episode. ... Touched by an Angel was a television show created by John Masius that ran on CBS from September 21, 1994, until April 27, 2003. ... Angel of Death can refer to several things: The Biblical Angel of death, Azrael The Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele The song by Slayer The Grim Reaper: the scythe-wielding skeleton, personification of death, common in fantasy and science fiction literature and films: Death (Discworld) of Terry Pratchetts Discworld This... Angel of Death can refer to several things: The Biblical Angel of death, Azrael The Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele The song by Slayer The Grim Reaper: the scythe-wielding skeleton, personification of death, common in fantasy and science fiction literature and films: Death (Discworld) of Terry Pratchetts Discworld This... Charmed is a U.S. television series by Aaron Spelling about three sisters who are powerful good witches known throughout the supernatural community as The Charmed Ones. ... Castlevania (ã‚ãƒ£ãƒƒã‚¹ãƒ«ãƒ´ã‚¡ãƒ‹ã‚¢) is a video game series, created and developed by Konami. ... For the Stage in Super Smash Bros. ... The Monty Python troupe in 1970. ... The Meaning of Life was a Monty Python comedy film made in 1983. ... Futurama is an animated American cartoon series created by Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen (also a writer for The Simpsons). ... Robots is a computer-animated movie released March 11, 2005. ... Longevity is long life or existence. ... The first book of the Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony deals with the story of a man who accidentally kills death and has to take over his job and life. ...

Contents

Interpretations of "death"

Ways of defining human death: medical, religious, and legal

When is a person dead?

Cause of death in the United States

Other notable causes of death in the United States (2002)

What happens to humans after death?

Physiological consequences of human death

Settlement of dead human bodies

Personification of death

See also

External links

Contents

Interpretations of "death" GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Ways of defining human death: medical, religious, and legal

When is a person dead?

Cause of death in the United States

Other notable causes of death in the United States (2002)

What happens to humans after death?

Physiological consequences of human death

Settlement of dead human bodies

Personification of death

See also

External links

Interpretations of "death"