Unconsciousness is the absence of consciousness. Unconsciousness normally only occurs during sleep, and even then dreaming may involve partial or full consciousness of dream events. Unconsciousness may also occur from a concussion, during an epileptic seizure, as a result of intoxication, or due to some other medical condition (such as a neurological dysfunction), and during general anaesthesia. 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. ... A human female sleeping Sleep is the regular state of natural unconsciousness observed in all mammals and birds. ... Dreaming is the subjective experience of imaginary images, sounds/voices, words, thoughts or sensations during sleep, usually involuntarily. ... Head injury is a trauma to the head, that may or may not include injury to the brain (see also brain injury). ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... This article or section should include material from drunkenness Intoxication is an impaired mental and physical state caused by ingesting alcoholic beverages or other psychoactive drugs. ... Neurology is the branch of medicine dealing with the nervous system and its disorders. ... In modern medical practice, general anaesthesia is a complex procedure involving: preanaesthetic assessment administration of general anaesthetic drugs cardiorespiratory monitoring analgesia airway management fluid management // Preanaesthetic Evaluation Before surgery, the anaesthesiologist or nurse anaesthetist will do a preanaesthetic evaluation to determine which drugs (including dosages), additional invasive monitors and/or...

Unconsciousness is not the same thing as the unconscious mind, which is assumed to operate even whilst the individual is conscious. At a simple and informal level, the notion of an unconscious mind (or subconscious) would seem a usefully straightforward way of accounting for aspects of the mind of which we are not directly conscious or aware. ...

Unconsciousness also refers to the condition a person is in when they perform an action in subservience to the wishes of their unconscious mind. For example, a person who commits a slip of the tongue or misplaces their keys is acting in a state of unconsciousness. The person can be said to acting unconsciously. Obviously, no person is ever wholely conscious or unconscious. At a simple and informal level, the notion of an unconscious mind (or subconscious) would seem a usefully straightforward way of accounting for aspects of the mind of which we are not directly conscious or aware. ...

Law and medicine

In jurisprudence, unconsciousness is a possible defense by excuse; via which, a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which broke the law. Courts rarely consider "falling asleep" (especially while driving or during surgery) to be an acceptable defense; however incidents related to epileptic seizure, neurological dysfunctions and sleepwalking may be considered acceptable. Jurisprudence is the scientific and historic study of law, inclusive of: Legal history, including legal historiography and hermeneutics; Legal philosophy; Legal science, e. ... In most litigation under the common law adversarial system the defendant, perhaps with the assistance of counsel, may allege or present defenses (or defences) in order to avoid liability, civil or criminal. ... In jurisprudence, an excuse is a defense in which a defendant argues that he or she was not liable for his or her actions at the time a law was broken and thus he or she should not be held liable for a crime. ... A defendant is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. ... A crime in a broad sense is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hindrance, or puts one at a disadvantage. ... An action, as philosophers use the term, is a certain kind of thing a person can do. ... Corruption Jurisprudence Philosophy of law Law (principle) List of legal abbreviations Legal code Intent Letter versus Spirit Natural Justice Natural law Religious law Witness intimidation Legal research Critical legal studies External links Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Law Look up law in Wiktionary, the free dictionary... Driving is the controlled operation of a vehicle, which is usually a motor vehicle such as a truck, bus, motorcycle, or car. ... A typical modern surgery operation For other meanings of the word, see Surgery (disambiguation) Surgery (from the Greek cheirourgia - lit. ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... Neurology is the branch of medicine dealing with the nervous system and its disorders. ... Sleepwalking (also called noctambulism or somnambulism) is a sleep disorder where the sufferer engages in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness while asleep or in a sleeplike state. ...

On the other hand, someone who is less conscious cannot give informed consent to anything. This is relevant in the case of sexual behavior (not allowed with such a person), and also in the case of a patient, with regard to starting or stopping a treatment, and euthanasia. Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon a full appreciation and understanding of the facts and implications of any actions (as far as humanly possible), with the individual being in possession of all of his faculties (not mentally retarded... Sexual behavior is a form of physical intimacy that may be directed to reproduction (one possible goal of sexual intercourse) and/or to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. ... Euthanasia (Greek, good death) is the practice of killing a person or animal, in a painless or minimally painful way, for merciful reasons, usually to end their suffering. ...

See also

• lucid dreaming
• hypnosis
• Do Not Resuscitate
• Living will