Person passed out on a sidewalk in New York City, 2008
In jurisprudence, unconsciousness may entitle the criminal defendant to the defense of automatism, i.e. a state without control of one's own actions, an excusing condition that allows a defendant to argue that they should not be held criminally liable for their actions or omissions. In most countries, courts must consider whether unconsciousness in a situation can be accepted as a defense; it can vary from case to case. Hence epileptic seizures, neurological dysfunctions and sleepwalking may be considered acceptable excusing conditions because the loss of control is not foreseeable, but falling asleep (especially while driving or during any other safety-critical activity) may not, because natural sleep rarely overcomes an ordinary person without warning.
In many countries, it is presumed that someone who is less than fully conscious cannot give consent to anything. This can be relevant in cases of sexual assault, euthanasia, or patients giving informed consent with regard to starting or stopping a medical treatment.
^"MeSH Browser". www.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
Look up Unconsciousness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
February 15, 2024
unconsciousness, also, unconscious, mind, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, s. See also Unconscious mind This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Unconsciousness news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message Unconsciousness is a state in which a living individual exhibits a complete or near complete inability to maintain an awareness of self and environment or to respond to any human or environmental stimulus 1 Unconsciousness may occur as the result of traumatic brain injury brain hypoxia inadequate oxygen possibly due to a brain infarction or cardiac arrest severe intoxication with drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system e g alcohol and other hypnotic or sedative drugs severe fatigue pain anaesthesia and other causes UnconsciousnessAn unconscious male human lying in a recovery positionSpecialtyPsychiatryNeurologyCardiologyPulmonologyLoss of consciousness should not be confused with the notion of the psychoanalytic unconscious cognitive processes that take place outside awareness e g implicit cognition and with altered states of consciousness such as sleep delirium hypnosis and other altered states in which the person responds to stimuli including trance and psychedelic experiences Contents 1 Causes 2 Law and medicine 3 See also 4 ReferencesCauses editPotential causes of unconsciousness include Traumatic brain injury Ischemic stroke Intracerebral hemorrhage Subarachnoid hemorrhage Seizure all types of seizures Brain tumor Brain abscess Increased intracranial pressure Encephalitis Meningitis Hypoxia or lack of oxygen Cardiac arrest Respiratory arrest Myocardial infarction Heart failure Arrhythmia Myocarditis Pericarditis Pulmonary embolism Heart enlargement Lung cancer Pneumonia Acute respiratory distress syndrome Respiratory failure Other types of heart and lung diseases Drowning Choking Electrocution Poison Kidney failure Liver failure Sepsis in severe cases excessive blood loss ShockLaw and medicine edit nbsp Person passed out on a sidewalk in New York City 2008In jurisprudence unconsciousness may entitle the criminal defendant to the defense of automatism i e a state without control of one s own actions an excusing condition that allows a defendant to argue that they should not be held criminally liable for their actions or omissions In most countries courts must consider whether unconsciousness in a situation can be accepted as a defense it can vary from case to case Hence epileptic seizures neurological dysfunctions and sleepwalking may be considered acceptable excusing conditions because the loss of control is not foreseeable but falling asleep especially while driving or during any other safety critical activity may not because natural sleep rarely overcomes an ordinary person without warning In many countries it is presumed that someone who is less than fully conscious cannot give consent to anything This can be relevant in cases of sexual assault euthanasia or patients giving informed consent with regard to starting or stopping a medical treatment See also editComa Do not resuscitate Greyout Hypnosis Living will Shallow water blackout Sleep Somnophilia Syncope fainting Trance Traumatic brain injury Twilight sleepReferences edit MeSH Browser www nlm nih gov Retrieved 18 March 2018 nbsp Look up Unconsciousness in Wiktionary the free dictionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Unconsciousness amp oldid 1196107531, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
