Death Flashcards
An irreversible loss of functioning in the entire brain, both the higher centers of the cerebral cortex that are involved in thought and the lower centers of the brain that control basic life processes such as breathing.
total brain death
Literally, “good death”; specifically, hastening, either actively or passively, the death of someone suffering from an incurable illness or injury.
euthanasia
Making available to individuals who wish to commit suicide the means by which they may do so, such as when a physician provides a terminally ill patient who wants to die with enough medication to overdose.
assisted suicide
A document in which people state in advance that they do not wish to have extraordinary medical procedures applied if they are hopelessly ill.
living will
Theories that emphasize the systematic genetic control of aging processes.
programmed theories of aging
Theories that emphasize several haphazard processes that cause cells and organ systems to deteriorate.
damage theories of aging
A ceiling on the number of years that any member of a species lives; 120 years for humans.
maximum life span
A genetic disorder caused by a single dominant gene that makes victims age prematurely and die early.
progeria
The estimate that human cells can double only 50 times, plus or minus 10, and then will die.
Hayflick limit
A stretch of DNA that forms the tip of a chromosome and that shortens after each cell division, possibly timing the death of cells.
telomere
Chemically unstable byproducts of metabolism that have an extra electron and react with other molecules to produce toxic substances that damage cells and contribute to aging.
free radicals
Vitamins C, E, and similar substances that may increase longevity, although not for long, by inhibiting the free radical activity associated with oxidation and in turn preventing age-related diseases.
antioxidant
A technique demonstrated to extend the life span of laboratory animals involving a highly nutritious but severely calorie restricted diet.
caloric restriction
An individual who lives to be 100 years of age.
centenarian
A defense mechanism in which anxiety-provoking thoughts are kept out of, or isolated from, conscious awareness.
denial
A state of loss that provides the occasion for grief and mourning.
bereavement
The emotional response to loss.
grief
Culturally prescribed ways of displaying reactions to a loss.
mourning
Grieving before death for what is happening and for what lies ahead.
anticipatory grief
Model of grieving describing four predominant reactions to loss of an attachment figure: numbness, yearning, disorganization and despair, and reorganization.
Parkes/Bowlby attachment model of bereavement
The view that both deliberate thought and more automatic emotion-based intuitions can inform decisions about moral issues and motivate behavior.
dual process model of morality
Grief that is not fully recognized or appreciated by other people and therefore may not receive much sympathy and support, as in the loss of a gay partner.
disenfranchised grief
An emotional response to a death that is unusually prolonged or intense and that impairs functioning.
complicated grief; pathological grief.
The view commonly held, but now challenged, that to cope adaptively with death bereaved people must confront their loss, experience painful emotions, work through these emotions, and move toward a detachment from the deceased.
grief work perspective
Maintenance of attachment to a loved one after the person’s death through reminiscence, use of the person’s possessions, consultation with the deceased, and the like.
continuing bond
A program that supports dying persons and their families through a philosophy of caring rather than curing, either in a facility or at home.
hospice
Care aimed not at curing but at meeting the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of dying patients.
palliative care
