Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal Issues:What is Forensic Thanatology?

Thanatology is the branch of science that deals with death in all its aspects. Shapiro, a well–known thanatologist defined death as the irreversible loss of the properties of living matter. However, it is difficult to appreciate his claim that this definition satisfies the practical requirements for death certification.

• Black’s law dictionary (Black 1951) in United States defines death as "The Cessation of life, the ceasing to exit", defined by physicians as total stoppage of circulation and cessation of vital functions, thereupon such as respiration and pulsation
• Section 46 IPC states that death denotes the death of a human being unless the contrary appears from the context.
• Section 2 (b) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act defines death as Permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after live birth gas taken place.

(Ref: Dr. PC Dikshit, Head (MAMC) MD LLB, Concise Textbook of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Peepee Publishers)