It is a person who has lost all or most of the functions of the brain, i.e., is unconscious, but is still alive. This type of patient is commonly referred to as a vegetable. Although a vegetative person still has a heartbeat and usually has reflexes (meaning that the brainstem is still alive and functioning), a vegetative person's life is usually dependent on the care of others, and he or she must be assisted in activities such as turning over and eating.

When a vegetative state lasts more than a month, it is called "persistent vegetative state" (PVS), and the longer the person is in a vegetative state, the more remote the hope for recovery. Each year in the United States, 14,000 new patients with severe brain injuries remain in a vegetative state one month after their injury.

Expanded Information

Clinical manifestations of a vegetative state:

1, loss of the ability to eat and drink on their own initiative, inability to complain of hunger and fullness, sometimes swallowing, chewing, grinding teeth and other movements.

2, intelligence, thought, will, emotion and other purposeful activities have been lost; his eyelids can be opened, his eyes show purposeless activity, he can't speak, can't understand the language, and sometimes can't recognize even though his eyes can gaze.

3. Incontinence.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Vegetative Person