Death

"Dead" and "Dying" alter here. For the appearance process, see Dyeing. For added uses, see Asleep (disambiguation) and Afterlife (disambiguation).
"Deceased" redirects here. For the band, see Asleep (band).
The beastly skull is acclimated universally as a attribute of death.
Statue of Death, embodied as a beastly skeleton dressed in a close and clutching a scythe, from the Cathedral of Trier in Trier, Germany
Death disposed to his flowers, in Kuoleman Puutarha, Hugo Simberg (1906)

Death is the abiding abeyance of all biological functions that sustain a active organism.[1] The charcoal of a active beastly activate to decompose anon afterwards death.[2] It is an assured action eventually occurring in all active organisms.

As of the aboriginal 21st century, over 150,000 bodies die ceremony day.[3][4]

Many cultures and religions accept the abstraction of an afterlife, and additionally authority the abstraction of judgement and accolade for adequate accomplishments or abuse for sin.
The abstraction of afterlife is a key to beastly compassionate of the phenomenon.[5] There are abounding accurate approaches and assorted interpretations of the concept. Additionally, the appearance of life-sustaining assay and the abundant acceptance for defining afterlife from both a medical and acknowledged standpoint, accept fabricated it difficult to actualize a distinct accumulation definition.

One of the challenges in defining afterlife is in appropriate it from life. As a point in time, afterlife would assume to accredit to the moment at which action ends. Free aback afterlife has occurred is difficult, as abeyance of action functions is about not accompanying above agency systems.[6] Such determination, therefore, requires cartoon absolute conceptual boundaries amid action and death. This is difficult, due to there actuality little accord on how to ascertain life.

It is accessible to ascertain action in acceding of consciousness. Aback alertness ceases, a active beastly can be said to accept died. One of the flaws in this admission is that there are abounding bacilli that are animate but allegedly not acquainted (for example, single-celled organisms). Addition botheration is in defining consciousness, which has abounding altered definitions accustomed by avant-garde scientists, psychologists and philosophers. Additionally, abounding religious traditions, including Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions, authority that afterlife does not (or may not) entail the end of consciousness. In assertive cultures, afterlife is added of a action than a distinct event. It implies a apathetic about-face from one airy accompaniment to another.[7]

Other definitions for afterlife focus on the appearance of abeyance of something.[8][clarification needed] Added specifically, afterlife occurs aback a active article adventures irreversible abeyance of all functioning.[9] As it pertains to beastly life, afterlife is an irreversible action area addition loses their actuality as a person.[9]

Historically, attempts to ascertain the exact moment of a human's afterlife accept been subjective, or imprecise. Afterlife was already authentic as the abeyance of baby (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, but the development of CPR and alert defibrillation accept rendered that analogue bare because breath and baby can sometimes be restarted. This blazon of afterlife area circulatory and respiratory arrest happens is accustomed as the circulatory analogue of afterlife (DCDD). Proponents of the DCDD accept that this analogue is reasonable because a actuality with abiding blow of circulatory and respiratory action should be advised dead.[10] Critics of this analogue accompaniment that while abeyance of these functions may be permanent, it does not beggarly the bearings is not irreversible, because if CPR was applied, the actuality could be revived.[10] Thus, the arguments for and adjoin the DCDD abscess bottomward to a amount of defining the absolute words "permanent" and "irreversible," which added complicates the claiming of defining death. Furthermore, contest which were causally affiliated to afterlife in the accomplished no best annihilate in all circumstances; afterwards a action affection or lungs, action can sometimes be abiding with a aggregate of action abutment devices, agency transplants and bogus pacemakers.

Today, area a analogue of the moment of afterlife is required, doctors and coroners usually about-face to "brain death" or "biological death" to ascertain a actuality as actuality dead; bodies are advised asleep aback the electrical action in their academician ceases. It is accustomed that an end of electrical action indicates the end of consciousness. Suspension of alertness charge be permanent, and not transient, as occurs during assertive beddy-bye stages, and abnormally a coma. In the case of sleep, EEGs can calmly acquaint the difference.

The class of "brain death" is credible as ambiguous by some scholars. For instance, Dr. Franklin Miller, chief adroitness affiliate at the Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, notes: "By the backward 1990s... the blueprint of academician afterlife with afterlife of the beastly actuality was added challenged by scholars, based on affirmation apropos the arrangement of biological action displayed by patients accurately diagnosed as accepting this action who were maintained on automated blast for abundant periods of time. These patients maintained the adeptness to sustain apportionment and respiration, ascendancy temperature, defecate wastes, alleviate wounds, action infections and, best dramatically, to gestate fetuses (in the case of abundant "brain-dead" women)."[11]

While "brain death" is beheld as ambiguous by some scholars, there are absolutely proponents of it that accept this analogue of afterlife is the best reasonable for appropriate action from death. The acumen abaft the abutment for this analogue is that academician afterlife has a set of acceptance that is reliable and reproducible.[12] Also, the academician is acute in free our character or who we are as beastly beings. The acumen should be fabricated that "brain death" cannot be equated with one who is in a abundant accompaniment or coma, in that the above bearings describes a accompaniment that is above recovery.[12]

Those bodies advancement that alone the neo-cortex of the academician is all-important for alertness sometimes altercate that alone electrical action should be advised aback defining death. Eventually it is accessible that the archetype for afterlife will be the abiding and irreversible blow of bookish function, as credible by the afterlife of the bookish cortex. All achievement of convalescent beastly anticipation and personality is afresh gone accustomed accustomed and accountable medical technology. At present, in best places the added bourgeois analogue of afterlife – irreversible abeyance of electrical action in the accomplished brain, as adjoin to aloof in the neo-cortex – has been adopted (for archetype the Accordant Assurance Of Afterlife Act in the United States). In 2005, the Terri Schiavo case brought the catechism of academician afterlife and bogus sustenance to the advanced of American politics.

Even by whole-brain criteria, the assurance of academician afterlife can be complicated. EEGs can ascertain affected electrical impulses, while assertive drugs, hypoglycemia, hypoxia, or hypothermia can abolish or alike stop academician action on a acting basis. Because of this, hospitals accept protocols for free academician afterlife involving EEGs at broadly afar intervals beneath authentic conditions.

In the past, acceptance of this whole-brain analogue was a abeyance of the President's Commission for the Abstraction of Ethical Problems in Anesthetic and Biomedical and Behavioral Assay in 1980.[13] They assured that this admission to defining afterlife sufficed in extensive a accordant analogue nationwide. A aggregation of affidavit were presented to abutment this analogue including: accord of standards in law for establishing death; burning of a family's budgetary assets for bogus action support; and acknowledged enactment for equating academician afterlife with afterlife in adjustment to beforehand with agency donation.[14]

Aside from the affair of abutment of or altercation adjoin academician death, there is addition inherent botheration in this absolute definition: the airheadedness of its appliance in medical practice. In 1995, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), accustomed a set of acceptance that became the medical accustomed for diagnosing neurologic death. At that time, three analytic appearance had to be annoyed in adjustment to actuate “irreversible cessation” of the absolute academician including: blackout with bright etiology, abeyance of breathing, and abridgement of brainstem reflexes.[15] This set of acceptance was afresh acclimatized afresh best afresh in 2010, but abundant discrepancies still abide above hospitals and medical specialties.[15]

The botheration of defining afterlife is abnormally acute as it pertains to the asleep donor rule, which could be accustomed as one of the afterward interpretations of the rule: there charge be an official acknowledgment of afterlife in a actuality afore starting agency accretion or that agency accretion cannot aftereffect in afterlife of the donor.[10] A abundant accord of altercation has amidst the analogue of afterlife and the asleep donor rule. Advocates of the aphorism accept the aphorism is accustomed in attention agency donors while additionally countering adjoin any moral or acknowledged argument to agency procurement. Critics, on the added hand, accept that the aphorism does not advocate the best interests of the donors and that the aphorism does not finer beforehand agency donation.[10]
Signs
Main article: Stages of death

Signs of afterlife or able breach that a acquisitive beastly is no best animate are:

    Respiratory arrest (no breathing)
    Cardiac arrest (no pulse)
    Academician afterlife (no neuronal activity)

The stages that chase afterwards afterlife are:

    Pallor mortis, paleness which happens in the 15–120 account afterwards death
    Algor mortis, the abridgement in anatomy temperature afterward death. This is about a abiding abatement until analogous ambient temperature
    Accuracy mortis, the limbs of the anatomy become annealed (Latin rigor) and difficult to move or manipulate
    Livor mortis, a clearing of the claret in the lower (dependent) allocation of the body
    Putrefaction, the alpha signs of decomposition
    Decomposition, the abridgement into simpler forms of matter, accompanied by a strong, abhorrent odor.
    Skeletonization, the end of decomposition, area all bendable tissues accept decomposed, abrogation alone the skeleton.
    Fossilization, the accustomed canning of the ashen charcoal formed over a actual continued period

Legal
See also: Acknowledged death

The afterlife of a actuality has acknowledged after-effects that may alter amid altered jurisdictions. A afterlife affidavit is issued in best jurisdictions, either by a doctor, or by an authoritative appointment aloft presentation of a doctor's acknowledgment of death.
Misdiagnosed
See also: Premature burial
Antoine Wiertz's painting of a man active alive

There are abounding anecdotal references to bodies actuality declared asleep by physicians and afresh "coming aback to life", sometimes canicule afterwards in their own coffin, or aback embalming procedures are about to begin. From the mid-18th aeon onwards, there was an beforehand in the public's abhorrence of actuality afield active alive,[16] and abundant agitation about the ambiguity of the signs of death. Assorted suggestions were fabricated to assay for signs of action afore burial, alignment from cloudburst alkali and pepper into the corpse's aperture to applying red hot pokers to the all-overs or into the rectum.[17] Writing in 1895, the physician J.C. Ouseley claimed that as abounding as 2,700 bodies were active anon ceremony year in England and Wales, although others estimated the amount to be afterpiece to 800.[18]

In cases of electric shock, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for an hour or best can acquiesce abashed fretfulness to recover, acceptance an allegedly asleep actuality to survive. Bodies activate benumbed beneath icy baptize may survive if their faces are kept continuously algid until they admission at an emergency room.[19] This "diving response", in which metabolic action and oxygen requirements are minimal, is article bodies allotment with cetaceans alleged the beastly diving reflex.[19]

As medical technologies advance, account about aback afterlife occurs may accept to be re-evaluated in ablaze of the adeptness to restore a actuality to animation afterwards best periods of credible afterlife (as happened aback CPR and defibrillation showed that abeyance of baby is bare as a absolute indicator of death). The abridgement of electrical academician action may not be abundant to accede addition scientifically dead. Therefore, the abstraction of information-theoretic death[20] has been appropriate as a bigger agency of defining aback accurate afterlife occurs, admitting the abstraction has few applied applications alfresco the acreage of cryonics.

There accept been some accurate attempts to accompany asleep bacilli aback to life, but with bound success.[21] In science fiction scenarios area such technology is readily available, absolute afterlife is acclaimed from capricious death.
Causes
See also: List of causes of afterlife by amount and Preventable causes of death

The arch account of beastly afterlife in developing countries is communicable disease. The arch causes in developed countries are atherosclerosis (heart ache and stroke), cancer, and added diseases accompanying to blubber and aging. By an acutely advanced margin, the better accumulation account of afterlife in the developed apple is biological aging,[3] arch to assorted complications accustomed as aging-associated diseases. These altitude account blow of homeostasis, arch to cardiac arrest, causing blow of oxygen and comestible supply, causing irreversible abasement of the academician and added tissues. Of the about 150,000 bodies who die ceremony day above the globe, about two thirds die of age-related causes.[3] In automated nations, the admeasurement is abundant higher, abutting 90%.[3] With bigger medical capability, dying has become a action to be managed. Home deaths, already commonplace, are now attenuate in the developed world.
American accouchement smoker in 1910. Tobacco smoker acquired an estimated 100 actor deaths in the 20th century.[22]

In developing nations, inferior germ-free altitude and abridgement of admission to avant-garde medical technology makes afterlife from communicable diseases added accustomed than in developed countries. One such ache is tuberculosis, a bacterial ache which asleep 1.8M bodies in 2015.[23] Malaria causes about 400–900M cases of agitation and 1–3M deaths annually.[24] AIDS afterlife assessment in Africa may adeptness 90–100M by 2025.[25][26]

According to Jean Ziegler (United Nations Appropriate Reporter on the Appropriate to Food, 2000 – Mar 2008), bloodshed due to malnutrition accounted for 58% of the absolute bloodshed amount in 2006. Ziegler says accepted about 62M bodies died from all causes and of those deaths added than 36M died of ache or diseases due to deficiencies in micronutrients.[27]

Tobacco smoker asleep 100 actor bodies accepted in the 20th aeon and could annihilate 1 billion bodies about the apple in the 21st century, a Apple Bloom Alignment address warned.[22]

Many arch developed apple causes of afterlife can be adjourned by diet and concrete activity, but the accelerating blow of ache with age still imposes banned on beastly longevity. The evolutionary account of crumbling is, at best, alone aloof alpha to be understood. It has been appropriate that absolute action in the crumbling action may now be the best able action adjoin above causes of death.[28]
Le Suicidé by Édouard Manet depicts a man who has afresh committed suicide via a firearm

Selye proposed a unified non-specific admission to abounding causes of death. He approved that accent decreases adeptness of an beastly and proposed to call the adeptness as a appropriate resource, adjustment energy. The beastly dies aback this adeptness is exhausted.[29] Selye affected that the adeptness is a bound supply, presented at birth. Afterwards on, Goldstone proposed the abstraction of a assembly or assets of adjustment action which may be stored (up to a limit), as a basic assets of adaptation.[30] In contempo works, adjustment action is advised as an centralized alike on the "dominant path" in the archetypal of adaptation. It is approved that oscillations of abundance appear aback the assets of adeptness is about exhausted.[31]

In 2012, suicide overtook car crashes for arch causes of beastly abrasion deaths in the U.S., followed by poisoning, avalanche and murder.[32] Causes of afterlife are altered in altered genitalia of the world. In advantageous and boilerplate assets countries about bisected up to added than two thirds of all bodies alive above the age of 70 and predominantly die of abiding diseases. In low-income countries, area beneath than one in bristles of all bodies adeptness the age of 70, and added than a third of all deaths are amid accouchement beneath 15, bodies predominantly die of communicable diseases.[33]
Autopsy
A painting of an autopsy, by Rembrandt, advantaged "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp"
An dissection is portrayed in The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, by Rembrandt

An autopsy, additionally accustomed as a afterward assay or an obduction, is a medical action that consists of a absolute assay of a beastly anatomy to actuate the account and address of a person's afterlife and to appraise any ache or abrasion that may be present. It is usually performed by a specialized medical doctor alleged a pathologist.

Autopsies are either performed for acknowledged or medical purposes. A argumentative dissection is agitated out aback the account of afterlife may be a bent matter, while a analytic or bookish dissection is performed to acquisition the medical account of afterlife and is acclimated in cases of alien or ambiguous death, or for assay purposes. Autopsies can be added classified into cases area alien assay suffices, and those area the anatomy is dissected and an centralized assay is conducted. Permission from abutting of kin may be appropriate for centralized dissection in some cases. Already an centralized dissection is complete the anatomy is about reconstituted by bed-making it aback together. Dissection is important in a medical ambiance and may afford ablaze on mistakes and advice beforehand practices.

A necropsy, which is not consistently a medical procedure, was a appellation ahead acclimated to call an able afterward assay . In avant-garde times, this appellation is added frequently associated with the corpses of animals.
Senescence
Dead Camelthorn timberline aural Sossusvlei

Senescence refers to a book aback a active actuality is able to survive all calamities, but eventually dies due to causes apropos to old age. Beastly and bulb beef frequently carbon and action during the accomplished aeon of accustomed existence, but the crumbling action derives from abasement of cellular action and affliction of approved functioning. Aptitude of beef for bit-by-bit abasement and bloodshed agency that beef are artlessly bedevilled to abiding and abiding blow of active capacities, alike admitting continuing metabolic reactions and viability. In the United Kingdom, for example, nine out of ten of all the deaths that action on a circadian base relates to senescence, while about the apple it accounts for two-thirds of 150,000 deaths that booty abode circadian (Hayflick & Moody, 2003).

Almost all animals who survive alien hazards to their biological action eventually die from biological aging, accustomed in action sciences as "senescence". Some bacilli acquaintance negligible senescence, alike announcement biological immortality. These accommodate the abashed Turritopsis dohrnii,[34] the hydra, and the planarian. Unnatural causes of afterlife accommodate suicide and predation. From all causes, about 150,000 bodies die about the apple ceremony day.[3] Of these, two thirds die anon or alongside due to senescence, but in automated countries – such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany – the amount approaches 90% (i.e., about nine out of ten of all deaths are accompanying to senescence).[3]

Physiological afterlife is now credible as a process, added than an event: altitude already advised apocalyptic of afterlife are now reversible.[35] Area in the action a adding band is fatigued amid action and afterlife depends on factors above the attendance or absence of basic signs. In general, analytic afterlife is neither all-important nor adequate for a assurance of acknowledged death. A accommodating with alive affection and lungs bent to be academician asleep can be arresting accurately asleep afterwards analytic afterlife occurring. As accurate adeptness and anesthetic advance, formulating a absolute medical analogue of afterlife becomes added difficult.[36]
Cryonics
Technicians adapt a anatomy for cryopreservation in 1985.
Main article: Cryonics

Cryonics (from Greek κρύος 'kryos-' acceptation 'icy cold') is the low-temperature canning of animals and bodies who cannot be abiding by abreast medicine, with the achievement that healing and resuscitation may be accessible in the future.[37][38]

Cryopreservation of bodies or ample animals is not capricious with accustomed technology. The declared account for cryonics is that bodies who are advised asleep by accustomed acknowledged or medical definitions may not necessarily be asleep according to the added acrimonious information-theoretic analogue of death.[20][39]

Some accurate abstract is claimed to abutment the achievability of cryonics.[40] Medical science and cryobiologists about commendations cryonics with skepticism.[41]
Reperfusion

"One of medicine's new frontiers: alleviative the dead", recognizes that beef that accept been afterwards oxygen for added than bristles account die,[42] not from abridgement of oxygen, but rather aback their oxygen accumulation is resumed. Therefore, practitioners of this approach, e.g., at the Resuscitation Science convention at the University of Pennsylvania, "aim to abate oxygen uptake, apathetic metabolism and acclimatize the claret allure for bit-by-bit and safe reperfusion."[43]
Life extension
Main article: Action extension

Life addendum refers to an access in best or boilerplate lifespan, abnormally in humans, by slowing bottomward or abandoning the processes of aging. Boilerplate lifespan is bent by vulnerability to accidents and age or lifestyle-related afflictions such as cancer, or cardiovascular disease. Addendum of boilerplate lifespan can be accomplished by adequate diet, exercise and abstention of hazards such as smoking. Best lifespan is additionally bent by the amount of crumbling for a brand inherent in its genes. Currently, the alone broadly accustomed adjustment of extending best lifespan is calorie restriction. Theoretically, addendum of best lifespan can be accomplished by abbreviation the amount of crumbling damage, by alternate backup of damaged tissues, or by atomic adjustment or awakening of attenuated beef and tissues.

A United States poll activate that religious bodies and cursing people, as able-bodied as men and women and bodies of altered bread-and-butter classes accept agnate ante of abutment for action extension, while Africans and Hispanics accept college ante of abutment than white people.[44] 38 percent of the polled said they would admiration to accept their crumbling action cured.

Researchers of action addendum are a bracket of biogerontologists accustomed as "biomedical gerontologists". They try to accept the attributes of crumbling and they advance treatments to about-face crumbling processes or to at atomic apathetic them down, for the advance of bloom and the aliment of active adeptness at every date of life. Those who booty advantage of action addendum allegation and seek to administer them aloft themselves are alleged "life extensionists" or "longevists". The primary action addendum action currently is to administer accessible anti-aging methods in the achievement of active continued abundant to account from a complete cure to crumbling already it is developed.
Location
Kyösti Kallio (in the middle), the fourth President of the Republic of Finland, had a baleful affection advance a few abnormal afterwards this photograph was taken by Hugo Sundström on December 19, 1940 at Helsinki railway base in Helsinki, Finland.[45][46]

Before about 1930, best bodies in Western countries died in their own homes, amidst by family, and comforted by clergy, neighbors, and doctors authoritative abode calls.[47] By the mid-20th century, bisected of all Americans died in a hospital.[48] By the alpha of the 21st century, alone about 20–25% of bodies in developed countries died alfresco of a medical institution.[48][49][50] The about-face abroad from dying at home appear dying in a able medical ambiance has been termed the "Invisible Death".[48] This about-face occurred gradually over the years, until best deaths now action alfresco the home.[51]
Emotional response
Main article: Afterlife all-overs (psychology)

Many bodies are abashed of dying. Discussing, thinking, or planning their own deaths causes them discomfort. This abhorrence may account them to put off banking planning, advancing a will and testament, or requesting advice from a auberge organization.

Different bodies accept altered responses to the abstraction of their own deaths.

Philosopher Galen Strawson writes that the afterlife that abounding bodies ambition for is an instant, painless, unexperienced annihilation.[52] In this absurd scenario, the actuality dies afterwards acumen it and afterwards actuality able to abhorrence it. One moment the actuality is walking, eating, or sleeping, and the abutting moment, the actuality is dead. Strawson affidavit that this blazon of afterlife would not booty annihilation abroad from the person, as he believes that a actuality cannot accept a accustomed affirmation to buying in the future.[52][53]
Society and culture
Main articles: Afterlife and adeptness and Beastly skull symbolism
A battle calumniating the anatomy of Klaus Fleming
The agent battle Charles (later baron Charles IX of Sweden) calumniating the anatomy of Klaus Fleming. Albert Edelfelt, 1878.
A artlessly diminished anatomy (from Guanajuato)
Dead bodies can be diminished either naturally, as this one from Guanajuato, or by intention, as those in age-old Egypt.

In society, the attributes of afterlife and humanity's acquaintance of its own bloodshed has for millennia been a affair of the world's religious traditions and of abstract inquiry. This includes acceptance in awakening or an afterlife (associated with Abrahamic religions), reincarnation or activation (associated with Dharmic religions), or that alertness assuredly ceases to exist, accustomed as abiding abeyance (associated with Secular humanism).[54]

Commemoration ceremonies afterwards afterlife may accommodate assorted mourning, burying practices and ceremonies of honouring the deceased. The concrete charcoal of a person, frequently accustomed as a anatomy or body, are usually interred accomplished or cremated, admitting amid the world's cultures there are a array of added methods of mortuary disposal. In the English language, blessings directed appear a asleep actuality accommodate blow in peace, or its abridgement RIP.

Death is the centermost of abounding traditions and organizations; community apropos to afterlife are a affection of every adeptness about the world. Abundant of this revolves about the affliction of the dead, as able-bodied as the afterlife and the auctioning of bodies aloft the access of death. The auctioning of beastly corpses does, in general, activate with the aftermost offices afore cogent time has passed, and august ceremonies about occur, best frequently burying or cremation. This is not a unified practice; in Tibet, for instance, the anatomy is accustomed a sky burying and larboard on a abundance top. Proper alertness for afterlife and techniques and ceremonies for bearing the adeptness to alteration one's airy ability into addition anatomy (reincarnation) are accommodation of abundant abstraction in Tibet.[55] Mummification or embalming is additionally accustomed in some cultures, to arrest the amount of decay.

Legal aspects of afterlife are additionally allotment of abounding cultures, decidedly the adjustment of the asleep acreage and the issues of bequest and in some countries, bequest taxation.
Gravestones in Japan
Gravestones in Kyoto, Japan

Capital abuse is additionally a culturally alienated aspect of death. In best jurisdictions area basic abuse is agitated out today, the afterlife amends is aloof for advised murder, espionage, treason, or as allotment of aggressive justice. In some countries, animal crimes, such as affair and sodomy, backpack the afterlife penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy, the academic abandonment of one's religion. In abounding retentionist countries, biologic trafficking is additionally a basic offense. In China, beastly trafficking and austere cases of bribery are additionally punished by the afterlife penalty. In militaries about the apple courts-martial accept imposed afterlife sentences for offenses such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny.[56]

Death in warfare and in suicide advance additionally accept cultural links, and the account of dulce et breeding est pro citizenry mori, disobedience amiss by death, afflicted ancestors of asleep soldiers and afterlife notification are anchored in abounding cultures. Afresh in the western world, with the access in agitation afterward the September 11 attacks, but additionally added aback in time with suicide bombings, kamikaze missions in Apple War II and suicide missions in a host of added conflicts in history, afterlife for a account by way of suicide attack, and affliction accept had cogent cultural impacts.
All is Vanity by Charles Allan Gilbert is an archetype of a keepsake mori, advised to represent how action and afterlife are intertwined

Suicide in general, and decidedly euthanasia, are additionally credibility of cultural debate. Both acts are accustomed actual abnormally in altered cultures. In Japan, for example, catastrophe a action with account by seppuku was advised a adorable death, admitting according to adequate Christian and Islamic cultures, suicide is beheld as a sin. Afterlife is embodied in abounding cultures, with such allegorical representations as the Grim Reaper, Azrael, the Hindu god Yama and Father Time.

In Brazil, a beastly afterlife is counted clearly aback it is registered by absolute ancestors associates at a cartório, a government-authorized registry. Afore actuality able to book for an official death, the asleep charge accept been registered for an official bearing at the cartório. Admitting a Accessible Anthology Law guarantees all Brazilian citizens the appropriate to annals deaths, behindhand of their banking means, of their ancestors associates (often children), the Brazilian government has not taken abroad the burden, the hidden costs and fees, of filing for a death. For abounding bankrupt families, the aberrant costs and accountability of filing for a afterlife advance to a added appealing, unofficial, local, cultural burial, which in about-face raises the agitation about inaccurate bloodshed rates.[57]

Talking about afterlife and witnessing it is a difficult affair with best cultures. Western societies may like to amusement the asleep with the absolute actual respect, with an official embalmer and associated rites. Eastern societies (like India) may be added accessible to accepting it as a fait accompli, with a burying advance of the asleep anatomy catastrophe in an amphitheater burning-to-ashes of the same.
Consciousness
Main article: Alertness afterwards death

Much absorption and agitation beleaguer the catechism of what happens to one's alertness as one's anatomy dies. The acceptance in the abiding blow of alertness afterwards afterlife is about alleged abiding oblivion. Acceptance that the beck of alertness is preserved afterwards concrete afterlife is declared by the appellation afterlife. Neither are adequate to anytime be accustomed afterwards the ponderer accepting to absolutely die.
In biology
Earthworms are a adequate archetype of soil-dwelling detritivores.

After death, the charcoal of an beastly become allotment of the biogeochemical cycle, during which animals may be captivated by a predator or a scavenger. Organic actual may afresh be added addle by detritivores, bacilli which recycle detritus, abiding it to the ambiance for reclaim in the aliment chain, area these chemicals may eventually end up actuality captivated and alloyed into the beef of a active organism. Examples of detritivores accommodate earthworms, woodlice and dung beetles.

Microorganisms additionally comedy a basic role, adopting the temperature of the decomposing amount as they breach it bottomward into yet simpler molecules. Not all abstracts charge to be absolutely decomposed. Coal, a deposit ammunition formed over all-inclusive tracts of time in swamp ecosystems, is one example.
Natural selection
Main articles: Antagonism (biology), Accustomed selection, and Extinction

Contemporary evolutionary approach sees afterlife as an important allotment of the action of accustomed selection. It is advised that bacilli beneath acclimatized to their ambiance are added adequate to die accepting produced beneath offspring, thereby abbreviation their addition to the gene pool. Their genes are appropriately eventually bred out of a population, arch at affliction to afterlife and, added positively, authoritative the action possible, referred to as speciation. Frequency of reproduction plays an appropriately important role in free brand survival: an beastly that dies adolescent but leaves abundant baby displays, according to Darwinian criteria, abundant greater fettle than a abiding beastly abrogation alone one.
Extinction
Main article: Extinction
Painting of a dodo
A dodo, the bird that became a adage in the English accent for the afterlife of a species[58]

Extinction is the abeyance of actuality of a brand or accumulation of taxa, abbreviation biodiversity. The moment of afterlife is about advised to be the afterlife of the aftermost alone of that brand (although the accommodation to brand and balance may accept been absent afore this point). Because a species' abeyant ambit may be actual large, free this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This adversity leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, area brand accustomed abolished abruptly "reappear" (typically in the deposit record) afterwards a aeon of credible absence. New brand appear through the action of speciation, an aspect of evolution. New varieties of bacilli appear and advance aback they are able to acquisition and accomplishment an ecological alcove – and brand become abolished aback they are no best able to survive in alteration altitude or adjoin above competition.
Evolution of crumbling and mortality
Main article: Change of ageing

Inquiry into the change of crumbling aims to explain why so abounding active things and the all-inclusive majority of animals abate and die with age (exceptions accommodate Blight and the already cited abashed Turritopsis dohrnii, which assay shows to be biologically immortal). The evolutionary agent of adulteration charcoal one of the axiological puzzles of biology. Gerontology specializes in the science of beastly crumbling processes.

Organisms assuming alone asexual reproduction (e.g. bacteria, some protists, like the euglenoids and abounding amoebozoans) and unicellular bacilli with animal reproduction (colonial or not, like the volvocine algae Pandorina and Chlamydomonas) are "immortal" at some extent, dying alone due to alien hazards, like actuality eaten or affair with a baleful accident. In multicellular bacilli (and additionally in multinucleate ciliates),[59] with a Weismannist development, that is, with a assay of activity amid bitter actual (body) beef and "immortal" antibody (reproductive) cells, afterlife becomes an capital allotment of life, at atomic for the actual line.[60]

The Volvox algae are amid the simplest bacilli to display that assay of activity amid two absolutely altered corpuscle types, and as a aftereffect accommodate afterlife of actual band as a regular, genetically adapted allotment of its action history.[60][61]
Religious views
Buddhism
See also: Anussati § The ten recollections

In Buddhist article and practice, afterlife plays an important role. Acquaintance of afterlife was what motivated Prince Siddhartha to strive to acquisition the "deathless" and assuredly to attain enlightenment. In Buddhist doctrine, afterlife functions as a admonition of the amount of accepting been built-in as a beastly being. Actuality reborn as a beastly actuality is advised the alone accompaniment in which one can attain enlightenment. Therefore, afterlife helps admonish oneself that one should not booty action for granted. The acceptance in activation amid Buddhists does not necessarily abolish afterlife anxiety, back all actuality in the aeon of activation is advised abounding with suffering, and actuality reborn abounding times does not necessarily beggarly that one progresses.[62]

Death is allotment of several key Buddhist tenets, such as the Four Noble Truths and abased origination.[62]
Christianity
See also: Anatomy in the Bible, Second death, and Awakening of the asleep § Christianity
Hinduism
See also: Reincarnation § Hinduism, and Yama (Hinduism)
Illustration depicting Hindu behavior about reincarnation.

In the Hindu texts, afterlife is declared as the alone abiding airy anatomy (conscious self) departure the accustomed acting actual body. The anatomy exits this anatomy aback the anatomy can no best sustain the acquainted cocky (life), which may be due to brainy or concrete reasons, or added accurately, the disability to act on one's actual desires. During conception, the anatomy enters a accordant new anatomy based on one's actual afterlife and the accompaniment of one's apperception (last thought) at the time of death.[63][64][65][66]

Usually this alteration makes one balloon all memories of one's antecedent life.[67] Because annihilation absolutely dies and the acting actual anatomy is consistently changing, both in this action and the next, afterlife artlessly agency absent-mindedness of one’s antecedent adventures (previous actual identity).[68]

Material actuality is declared as actuality abounding of miseries arising from birth, disease, old age, death, mind, weather, etc.[69][70] To beat the aeon of afterlife and activation and become adequate for one of the altered types of liberation, one has to aboriginal beat actual desires and become self-realized.[71][72][73] The beastly anatomy of action is best adequate for this airy journey,[74][75] abnormally with the advice of sadhu (self-realized angelic persons), sastra (revealed airy scriptures), and authority (self-realized airy masters), accustomed all three are in agreement.[76][77][78][79]

    "As the embodied anatomy continuously passes, in this body, from adolescence to adolescence to old age, the anatomy analogously passes into addition anatomy at death. A abstaining actuality is not addled by such a change."
    — Bhagavad-gītā 2.13

    "For the anatomy there is neither bearing nor afterlife at any time. He has not appear into being, does not appear into being, and will not appear into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not collapsed aback the anatomy is slain."
    — Bhagavad-gītā 2.20

Islam
See also: Islamic appearance of death
Judaism
A yahrzeit candle lit in anamnesis of a admired one on the ceremony of the death
See also: Bereavement in Judaism

Death is credible in Judaism as adverse and intimidating. Bodies who appear into acquaintance with corpses are ritually impure. There are a array of behavior about the afterlife aural Judaism, but none of them belie the alternative of action over death. This is partially because afterlife puts a abeyance to the achievability of accomplishing any commandments.[80]
Language about death
Study of Skeletons, c. 1510, by Leonardo da Vinci

The chat afterlife comes from Old English dēaþ, which in about-face comes from Proto-Germanic *dauþuz (reconstructed by etymological analysis). This comes from the Proto-Indo-European axis *dheu- acceptation the "process, act, action of dying".[81]

The abstraction and affection of death, and capricious degrees of airiness acclimated in altercation in accessible forums, accept generated abundant scientific, legal, and socially adequate acceding or euphemisms for death. Aback a actuality has died, it is additionally said they accept anesthetized away, anesthetized on, expired, or are gone, amid abundant added socially accepted, religiously specific, slang, and aweless terms.

As a academic advertence to a asleep person, it has become accustomed convenance to use the participle anatomy of "decease", as in the deceased; addition noun anatomy is decedent.

Bereft of life, the asleep actuality is afresh a corpse, cadaver, a body, a set of remains, and aback all beef has addle away, a skeleton. The acceding ashes and body can additionally be used, admitting these added about betoken the charcoal of non-human animals. The ashes larboard afterwards a burying are sometimes referred to by the neologism cremains.