Morte encefálica: Cinquenta anos além do coma profundo

Abstract

Fifty years ago, Mollaret and Goulon described the dépassé coma, an irreversible alteration in consciousness that later came to be known as brain death and equated with heart and respiratory failure. This article presents an overview of the evolution of diagnostic criteria for brain death, its ethical and scientific basis, and, above all, its ethical and legal regulation in Brazil.