Persistent vegetative state

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Persistent vegetative state

Persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness.

Pronunciation

Persistent vegetative state: /pərˈsɪstənt vɛdʒɪtətɪv steɪt/

Etymology

The term "persistent vegetative state" was first used in 1972 by Scottish neurosurgeon Bryan Jennett and American neurologist Fred Plum to describe a condition that they defined as "unawareness of self and environment, incapable of interaction with others, no sustained, reproducible, purposeful, or voluntary behavioral responses to visual, auditory, tactile, or noxious stimuli, no language comprehension or expression, intermittent wakefulness manifested by the presence of sleep-wake cycles, sufficiently preserved hypothalamic and brain-stem autonomic functions to permit survival with medical and nursing care, bowel and bladder incontinence, and variably preserved cranial-nerve reflexes (pupillary, oculocephalic, corneal, vestibulo-ocular, and gag) and spinal reflexes."

Related Terms

  • Coma: A state of unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened.
  • Brain death: The irreversible cessation of all functions of the brain.
  • Minimally conscious state: A condition of severely altered consciousness but with some signs of self-awareness or awareness of one's environment.
  • Locked-in syndrome: A condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body.

See also

External links

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