The first paradox is the brain dead patient whose ‘phenotype’ betrays the ultimate futility and lack of sustainability of the state.
In this Primer, we frame the distinctions across the different conditions, point to recent work that advances measurements able to identify their differences, and explain two inter-related paradoxes. Moreover, biological models underpin each category uniquely and with increasing precision.
While often confused by non-medical specialists, brain death and disorders of consciousness such as coma, vegetative state, and minimally conscious state are clearly distinct and unambiguously distinguishable.
