Brainwaves

Brain death, you'd be surprised to know, has its roots in non-neurologic specialties. Specialties like pulmonary critical care, cardiology, and transplant surgery. How the term was conceived, why it was needed, and what it means in our current practice of medicine will be the focus of this week's BrainWaves episode. Featuring Drs. Joshua Levine and Mike Rubenstein. Produced by James E. Siegler. Music by Chris Zabriskie, Damiano Baldoni, Josh Woodward, and Julie Maxwell. BrainWaves' podcasts and online content are intended for medical education purposes only and should not be used for routine clinical decision making. Please refer to local and regional policies on how brain death is determined at your institution. REFERENCES Kacmarek RM. The mechanical ventilator: past, present, and future. Respir Care. 2011;56:1170-80. De Georgia MA. History of brain death as death: 1968 to the present. J Crit Care. 2014;29:673-8. West JB. The physiological challenges of the 1952 Copenhagen poliomyelitis epidemic and a renai