Editing Death (section)

{{Short description|Permanent end of an organism's life}}
{{For|the figure sometimes referred to as Death|Personifications of death}}
{{redirect|Dead||Dead (disambiguation)|and|Death (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Deceased|the band|Deceased (band)}}
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{{Use American English|date=March 2013}}
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[[File:Hendrick Andriessen - Vanity Piece - 1914-DE - Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK).jpg|alt=A 17th century painting of various objects, the most prominent of which is a human skull.|thumb|The [[human skull]] is used universally as a symbol of death.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Glennys Howarth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GK2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA416 |title=Encyclopedia of Death and Dying |author2=Oliver Leaman |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-136-91360-0 |page=416}}</ref>]]
'''Death''' is the end of [[life]];  the [[Irreversible process|irreversible]] cessation of all [[biological process|biological functions]] that sustain a living [[organism]].<ref>{{Dictionary.com|death|access-date=2021-02-27}}</ref>  Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to [[Decomposition|decompose]] shortly after death.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hayman |first1=Jarvis |title=Human body decomposition |last2=Oxenham |first2=Marc |date=2016 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-803713-3 |location=Amsterdam |oclc=945734521}}</ref> Some organisms, such as ''[[Turritopsis dohrnii]]'', are [[Biological immortality|biologically immortal]]; however, they can still die from means other than [[Senescence|aging]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Masamoto |first1=Yui |last2=Piraino |first2=Stefano |last3=Miglietta |first3=Maria Pia |date=December 2019 |title=Transcriptome Characterization of Reverse Development in Turritopsis dohrnii (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) |journal=G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics |volume=9 |issue=12 |pages=4127–4138 |doi=10.1534/g3.119.400487 |pmc=6893190 |pmid=31619459 }}</ref> Death is generally applied to whole organisms; the equivalent for individual components of an organism, such as [[Cell (biology)|cells]] or [[Tissue (biology)|tissues]], is [[necrosis]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Proskuryakov |first1=Sergey Y.a |last2=Konoplyannikov |first2=Anatoli G |last3=Gabai |first3=Vladimir L |title=Necrosis: a specific form of programmed cell death? |journal=Experimental Cell Research |date=February 2003 |volume=283 |issue=1 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1016/s0014-4827(02)00027-7 |pmid=12565815 }}</ref> Something that is not considered an organism, such as a [[virus]], can be physically destroyed but is not said ''to die'', as a virus is not considered alive in the first place.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Louten |first=Jennifer |title=Essential Human Virology |date=2016 |publisher=[[Elsevier Science]] |isbn=978-0-12-801171-3 |page=6}}</ref>

As of the early 21st century, 56 million people die per year. The most common reason is [[aging]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Ruotong |last2=Cheng |first2=Xunjie |last3=Yang |first3=Yang |last4=C. Schwebel |first4=David |last5=Ning |first5=Peishan |last6=Li |first6=Li |last7=Rao |first7=Zhenzhen |last8=Cheng |first8=Peixia |last9=Zhao |first9=Min |last10=Hu |first10=Guoqing |title=Global Deaths Associated with Population Aging — 1990–2019 |journal=China CDC Weekly |date=2023 |volume=5 |issue=51 |pages=1150–1154 |doi=10.46234/ccdcw2023.216 |pmid=38152634 |pmc=10750162 }}</ref> followed by [[cardiovascular disease]], which is a [[disease]] that affects the [[heart]] or [[blood vessel]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Richtie |first1=Hannah |last2=Spooner |first2=Fiona |last3=Roser |first3=Max |date=February 2018 |title=Causes of death |url=https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death#:~:text=Cardiovascular%20diseases%20are%20the%20leading,second%20biggest%20cause%20are%20cancers. |url-status=live |journal=Our World in Data |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520193352/https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death#:~:text=Cardiovascular%20diseases%20are%20the%20leading,second%20biggest%20cause%20are%20cancers. |archive-date=20 May 2018 |access-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref> As of 2022, an estimated total of almost 110 billion humans have died, or roughly 94% of all humans to have ever lived.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Routley |first=Nick |date=2022-03-25 |title=How Many Humans Have Ever Lived? |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/how-many-humans-have-ever-lived/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328104311/https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/how-many-humans-have-ever-lived/ |archive-date=2022-03-28 |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=Visual Capitalist}}</ref> A substudy of [[gerontology]] known as [[biogerontology]] seeks to eliminate death by natural aging in humans, often through the application of natural processes found in certain organisms.<ref name="Stambler-2017" /> However, as humans do not have the means to apply this to themselves, they have to use other ways to reach the [[maximum lifespan]] for a human, often through [[Lifestyle (social sciences)|lifestyle]] changes, such as [[Calorie restriction|calorie reduction]], [[dieting]], and [[exercise]].<ref name="Fontana-2010" /> The idea of [[lifespan extension]] is considered and studied as a way for people to live longer.

Determining when a person has definitively died has proven difficult. Initially, death was defined as occurring when breathing and the heartbeat ceased, a status still known as [[clinical death]].<ref name="US President's Commission -1981" /> However, the development of [[cardiopulmonary resuscitation]] (CPR) meant that such a state was no longer strictly irreversible.<ref name="US Department of the Army-1999" /> [[Brain death]] was then considered a more fitting option, but several definitions exist for this. Some people believe that all brain functions must cease. Others believe that even if the [[brainstem]] is still alive, the [[Personal identity|personality and identity]] are irretrievably lost, so therefore, the person should be considered entirely dead.<ref name="Zaner-2011" /> Brain death is sometimes used as a legal definition of death.<ref>{{Dictionary.com|brain death|access-date=2021-02-27}}</ref> For all organisms with a brain, death can instead be focused on this organ.<ref>{{Citation |last=DeGrazia |first=David |title=The Definition of Death |date=2021 |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/death-definition/ |access-date=2022-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723222746/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/death-definition/ |archive-date=23 July 2022 |url-status=live |edition=Summer 2021 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parent |first1=B |last2=Turi |first2=A |title=Death's Troubled Relationship With the Law |journal=AMA Journal of Ethics |date=December 2020 |volume=22 |issue=12 |pages=E1055–1061 |doi=10.1001/amajethics.2020.1055 |pmid=33419507 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[cause of death]] is usually considered important, and an [[autopsy]] can be done to determine it. There are many causes, from accidents to diseases.

Many cultures and religions have a concept of an [[afterlife]]. There are also different customs for honoring the body, such as a [[funeral]], [[cremation]], or [[sky burial]].<ref name="Newcomb-2019" /> After a death, an [[obituary]] may be posted in a newspaper, and the "survived by" kin and friends usually go through the [[grieving process]].