In
medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
,
death by natural causes is a loosely-defined term used by
coronerA coroner or forensics examiner is an official chiefly responsible for investigating deaths, particularly some of those happening under unusual circumstances, and determining the cause of death. Depending on the jurisdiction, the coroner may adjudge the cause himself, or act as the presiding...
s describing
deathDeath is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby. The true nature of the latter has for millennia been a central concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical...
when the cause of death was a naturally occurring disease process, or is not apparent given medical history or circumstances. (It may also be described as death by "
multiple organ failureMultiple organ dysfunction syndrome ', previously known as multiple organ failure , is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis...
".) Thus, deaths caused by active human intervention (as opposed to the failure of medical intervention to prevent death) are excluded from this definition, and are described as
unnatural deathUnnatural death is a category used by coroners and vital statistics specialists for classifying all human deaths not properly describable as death by natural causes...
s.
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In
medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
,
death by natural causes is a loosely-defined term used by
coronerA coroner or forensics examiner is an official chiefly responsible for investigating deaths, particularly some of those happening under unusual circumstances, and determining the cause of death. Depending on the jurisdiction, the coroner may adjudge the cause himself, or act as the presiding...
s describing
deathDeath is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby. The true nature of the latter has for millennia been a central concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical...
when the cause of death was a naturally occurring disease process, or is not apparent given medical history or circumstances. (It may also be described as death by "
multiple organ failureMultiple organ dysfunction syndrome ', previously known as multiple organ failure , is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis...
".) Thus, deaths caused by active human intervention (as opposed to the failure of medical intervention to prevent death) are excluded from this definition, and are described as
unnatural deathUnnatural death is a category used by coroners and vital statistics specialists for classifying all human deaths not properly describable as death by natural causes...
s.
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