8 Scientific Theories About Death

6. There Are Three Kinds Of Death

Death seems pretty final but, technically speaking, there are three different stages of death and, what's more, one of them is reversible.

It all begins with clinical death, which is the cessation of vital functions, typically heartbeat and respiration. This is the one that people "come back" from and brain activity can actually persist through this stage of death. This is generally what people mean when they say they were "technically dead" for however long, and is sometimes reversible.

Then we have biological death, sometimes called "brain death". This is almost the opposite of clinical death, as brain activity ceases, even if the vital functions are being maintained by machines. This is medically considered "good and dead" and is not reversible.

Finally, molecular death refers to the stage at which the body finally loses its lifelong battle against decay. This is when the cells in the body begin to break down and, frankly, you wouldn't want this one to be reversible.