Brain stem death

The concept of brain and brain stem death developed from the observation of patients in apnoeic coma. Specific pre-conditions must be met before the diagnosis can be made through the clinical testing of brain stem function. Although the exact definition of brain death and some of the details for testing vary across the globe, the majority of tests carried out are similar. We define brain stem death and the clinical tests used to confirm it. The use of ancillary testing can have a role in patients where clinical tests are not possible.