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October 26, 1979, Vol 242, No. 17 >
ARTICLE | October 26, 1979

Definition of Brain Death

Millard Bass, DO, ScD
JAMA. 1979;242(17):1850. doi:10.1001/jama.1979.03300170016015.
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To the Editor.—  In March 1979, a nurse was tried by a jury for the murder of a patient in a Maryland hospital.1 She was accused of deliberately killing this comatose patient by unplugging his respirator.A state forensic pathologist testified that there was no gross evidence of a "respirator brain," a term synonymous with brain death. A forensic pathologist called by the defense said the man was probably brain dead at time of respirator turn-off. An internist testified for the prosecution that the man was alive at time of respirator turn-off. But another internist called by the defense testified that the patient was dead before disconnection of the respirator.The jury was deadlocked after two days of deliberation. The judge then dismissed the jury and declared a mistrial. The prosecutor has decided not to retry the nurse.One week after the mistrial, I interviewed 11 of the 12

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