Dr. Dubik and Dr. Wood thought it necessary to make sure that ‘dead as a doornail’ was indeed an appropriate analogy. Since advanced life support technology has confused things somewhat and there are now laws concerning brain death, standards matter. So How Dead Is a Doornail?
If the definition of death as expressed by the AMA et al has validity, it should be possible to compare this recent criteria against the widely accepted and time-tested “doornail” standard. We did just that.
We subjected a large doornail (see Figure 1) that was forged in 1986 to thorough examination, prolonged close observation, and an electroencephalogram (EEG).
Their studies resulted in 4 findings that conclude “that the criteria for death as described in modem medical literature 1,2,3.4 is valid and may be used with confidence by clinicians.”
Caution: the post contains pictures of the subject under examination that may be disturbing.
OK. so now we know. That door nail was indeed without life. Or at least the one the doctors subjected to examination met the criteria. Maybe other nails?
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