| Sumario: | The mainstream rationale for equating “braindeath” (BD) with death is that the brain confers integrative unity uponthe body, transforming it from a mere collection of organs and tissues toan “organism as a whole.” In support of this conclusion, the impressivelist of the brain's myriad integrative functions is often cited. Uponcloser examination, and after operational definition of terms, however, onediscovers that most integrative functions of the brain are actually not somaticallyintegrating, and, conversely, most integrative functions of the body are notbrain-mediated. With respect to organism-level vitality, the brain'srole is more modulatory than constitutive, enhancing the quality and survivalpotential of a presupposedly living organism. Integrative unity of a complexorganism is an inherently nonlocalizable, holistic feature involving the mutualinteraction among all the parts, not a top-down coordination imposed by onepart upon a passive multiplicity of other parts. Loss of somatic integrativeunity is not a physiologically tenable rationale for equating BD with deathof the organism as a whole.
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