The 12 types of death (explained and classified).

A classification of the different types of death, explaining their main characteristics.

Each culture, religion and even person interprets death in a different way, giving it a varied definition and meaning throughout the world.

However, despite the great diversity of what is the idea of death and how this inevitable final stage of life is lived, the truth is that we can find different types of death taking into account two main criteria: the legal and the biological.

Throughout this article we will discover what are the types of death according to what has caused it and how it is lived. according to what has caused it and according to what science says about what is the end of life. Let's find out!

The main types of death

Ever since human beings have been aware of their existence, they have also been aware of the end of their days. The idea of death has been the subject of debate throughout history, attributing to it a different causality and meaning depending on the place, culture, religion and philosophy asked about.

However, in biological terms, we can give a brief and succinct definition of what it means: death is the end of life, the total incapacity of the organism to maintain the homeostasis of the body by means of biological processes..

In the spiritual realm, death is associated with the end of earthly life and the beginning of heavenly life, and there are countless beliefs about what comes after. If we ask philosophers about what death is, although each one of them has his own opinion about what it is, they all agree that death is the only certainty that the human being has about himself.

Whatever our idea of death may be, the truth is that there are several ways in which this phenomenon can occur. The end of life can occur naturally or by the action of an agent external to the person, from a very serious illness to the fact that someone, voluntarily or unconsciously, has ended the life of a person.The end of life can occur naturally or by the action of an agent external to the person, from a very serious illness to the fact that someone, voluntarily or unconsciously, has ended the life of another individual.

The different types of death can be classified in two main criteria, being the first one that we are going to see taking into consideration what has caused it, while the second one has to do with what science thinks about this phenomenon.

Types of death according to cause

Death can be caused by a failure of the organism, an accident or because another person has decided to end someone's life, among others.

Natural death

It has practically always been believed that people who reached old age died simply because they had reached a certain age. Since the individual had already lived a long time, sooner or later it was time for him to go to the next world. This type of death was called natural death, differentiating it from those caused by accidents or violence.

Today we know that all deaths occur for a reason, although we do not always know it. If an elderly person dies is not because the clock of life has run out, but because there has been something in their organism that has failed, something totally normal in elderly people whose natural defense mechanisms have been compromised. whose natural defense mechanisms have deteriorated with the passage of time.

Although, strictly speaking, no one dies for no reason, since everything has a cause, today the term natural death is still used to indicate that the person has died for something that does not come from outside him/her.

2. Apparent death

Sometimes, although very rarely, it happens that the organism momentarily loses all its vital functions, a phenomenon called catalepsy. Technically, the organism is alive, but it appears not to be, because it has entered a transitory state that apparently makes anyone believe that the person is dead.. The individual who has entered this curious state can be revived by various medical procedures.

This, which is known to happen today, was not known in the past. In the absence of sophisticated autopsy techniques or devices that monitor vital functions, it used to happen in the past that, after seeing that a person showed no signs of life, he or she was considered deceased and the entire funeral procedure was initiated, burying or burning him or her alive.

3. Sudden death

Considered by some as a natural death, sudden death is one in which the individual dies without apparent cause or disease, or was not suspected of dying in the short term. This type of death is characterized by being unexpected and rapid, occurring in newborns.It occurs in newborns and there is also a risk of sudden death when the person is over forty years of age.

In the case of newborns, the predominant cause is known as sudden infant death, the cause of which is unknown, although it is thought to be problems in the development of some vital function, generally respiratory. In the case of adults, cardiovascular diseases predominate as a cause of sudden death..

Sudden deaths are also considered to be those that occur within the first hour of the onset of the symptom that is believed to have caused them.

4. Violent death

A death is considered violent when what has caused the death is completely unrelated to the functioning of the body.. An external motive has provoked some action, deliberate or not, that has ended up provoking the death of the victim in a particularly violent way.

5. Suicide

Suicide is the situation in which an individual voluntarily ends his or her life.

Those who end their lives in this way usually do so after having suffered a lot, suffering from a mental disorder such as depression or being in a situation they believe they will not be able to escape.suffering some mental disorder as it can be the depression or to be in a situation of which they believe that they are not going to be able to escape.

• Article related: "Suicidal thoughts: causes, symptoms and therapy".

6. Homicide

The homicide is the act by which a person takes the life of another person in a deliberate way..

In most of the countries of the world, this act is considered a very serious crime, being the laws especially strict with this crime. In fact, it is so serious that there are states in which the crime of homicide is punished with the death penalty, which is nothing more than carrying out a homicide but by legal means and supported by the institutions.

7. Accidental death

Accidental death is considered to be that situation in which the deceased has died as a result of something external to his or her body, but there has been no intention or willfulness on the part of the person who handled the object, if any. there has been no intention or voluntariness on the part of the person who has handled that object in case there was one..

The causes can be very diverse, as for example a collision with a car, intoxication with a bad food or by irresponsible action of another person with any object, vehicle or whatever.

8. Assisted suicide

Assisted suicide is the type of death that is provided to a person, in a a person is provided, intentionally and with the necessary knowledge, with the means necessary to end his or her life, including advice on lethal doses.including advice on lethal doses of medication, prescription or supply of medication. It is the patient who voluntarily ends his life.

Types of death according to Medicine

Although death remains a great mystery for everyone in philosophical and spiritual terms, as far as science is concerned, it is somewhat clear what it entails.

Death is defined as the situation in which the organism no longer performs the physiological processes to keep it alive, although there are several ways in which it can occur taking into account biological and physiological aspects.

In any case, all of them involve the absence of the respiratory process, no cardiac contraction and/or lack of nerve impulses..

9. Somatic death

Multicellular organisms, as is the case of our species, exist thanks to the multiple chemical and biological reactions that their cells carry out among themselves. In the event that the cells are damaged, either naturally or by the action of some pathology, a multisystemic failure may occur, which would compromise the health of the whole organism and, in case of worsening, lead to death..

In the human case, vital organs such as the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and liver, if damaged, can cause the death of the person, even instantaneously if the injury or pathology is very serious. Depending on the problem behind the somatic death, we speak of different medical conditions.

Syncope

Syncope is a failure of the heart due to a lack of nerve impulses that should reach the heart.. This causes the Blood not to circulate properly, reducing the blood supply and causing tissue necrosis. A condition associated with this problem is acute myocardial infarction.

9.2. Asthenia

Asthenia is a medical problem in which blood flow is weak, which can lead to different cardiac pathologies.which can lead to different cardiac pathologies.

9.3. Anemia

Anemia is a medical condition in which there is a decrease in the amount of blood in the blood supply, causing heart failure, almost always due to hemorrhagic injury. The person dies from loss of blood.

9.4. Coma

Coma begins in the injured braincausing the lack of sending of nervous stimuli to the rest of the organism, absolute loss of consciousness and, in the short or long term, the death of the affected person. Several diseases can be behind coma, among them meningitis, encephalitis, endocranial hypertension and stroke.

10. Necrosis

This is the death of a cell or group of cells because they have been attacked by pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, viruses or any other type of foreign body..

The attacked areas end up decomposing and can be the focus of further infections throughout the body because the pathogens thrive and travel to the rest of the body.

11. Necrobiosis

Necrobiosis is the programmed death of cells and is therefore a natural process that should not cause any problems except when it is caused by some kind of external or internal factor, such as pathology, gene activation or microbiological action.

12. Clinical death

Clinical death is usually defined as that type of death in which the person has stopped sending nerve impulses of his own accord.. It is possible to keep the person alive by means of mechanical equipment that maintains the most basic homeostatic functions, although it is likely that the person will remain in a coma.