- Generally, there is no difficulty in the diagnosis of
somatic death by doctors. However, in some cases the heart sounds and
breath sounds diminish greatly. Errors occur if proper clinical
examination is not done or hurriedly done in patients with kidney failure
and Cheyne–stokes respiration etc. Nevertheless, there are occasions when
the distinction between death and suspended animation poses a real
difficulty.
- Suspended animation is a death–like state in which
vital functions of the body are at such a low pitch that they cannot be
determined by ordinary methods of clinical examination.
- Practitioners of yoga can induce this death like state
voluntarily.
- It can be involuntarily due to: (i) Severe shock
following accident (ii) Electrical shock (iii) Poisoning (barbiturate)
(iv) Drowning (v) Epilepsy (vi) Sunstroke (vii) Cholera and (viii)
Hysteria.
- Suspended animation lasts for seconds to hours and
distinction is not possible by ordinary clinical methods. However, methods
like ECG and EEG can be used to reach a diagnosis.
(Ref: Dr. PC Dikshit, Head (MAMC) MD
LLB, Textbook of Forensic Medicine, Peepee Publisher)
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