Clinical death is loss of vital function. Brain death follows.
People have been clinically dead, but revived before brain death occurred.
Like heart stoppage that is restarted after other measures kept oxygen and blood going to the brain.
Or, in extreme cases by things like drowning in very cold water that put the body into a “stasis” and the vital functions later restarted.
The record for such an event was a 2 y.o. who was submerged for 66 minutes. Her brain did not die and she made a full recovery after they were able to restore heartbeat.
Yes, clinical death and brain death mean two different things.
Clinical death- death as judged by the medical observation of cessation of vital functions. It is typically identified with the cessation of heartbeat and
respiration, though modern
resuscitation methods and
life-support systems have required the introduction of the
alternative concept of brain death
vital functions– processes or actions of the body on which life is directly dependent
Brain death - the irreversible loss of all functions of the brain, including the brainstem. The three essential findings in brain death are coma, absence of brainstem reflexes, and apnoea.