Instant death

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This is about death; for the band, see Instant Death (band).

In journalism, instant death, death occurring instantaneously, and dying instantly describe various situations where a person dies at the scene of their cause of death. Oftentimes, the term to 'died instantly' is used as a polite way of saying 'died rather messilly', for example after being cut in half; the victim is certainly to be dead but not necessarily at that instant (instantly non-recoverable).

Many sudden and quick causes of death are actually processes lasting a noticeable length of time. For instance, a broken femur that severs the femoral artery and also produces an open wound in the thigh is likely to cause death in less than a minute, since virtually complete loss of blood would be rapid. While shock, and eventually inadequate blood flow to the brain may cause loss of consciousness more quickly, the brain activity would continue at least until loss of volume left blood pressure near zero.

Causes of death that involve death without noticeable delay would involve immediate disruption of brain function. Gunshot wounds to the head are often survivable with adequate treatment, and do not always cause loss of consciousness; this can include some suicide attempts where a handgun is held perpendicularly against the side of the head. It is probable that decapitation without damage to the skull entails several seconds of continuing brain function (though not necessarily of consciousness).

Where a firearm is fired with several inches of its barrel inside a person's mouth and oriented straight into the mouth cavity, immediate death by destruction of the brain stem is extremely likely. Other forms of death where the brain is destroyed "faster than a thought" would include exposure to radiant energy so intense (in proximity to a nuclear explosion) that vaporization of the skull and brain would occur in a time far less than a second, and very rapid crushing of the skull, which can occur in falls (especially head first) from sufficient heights, and horizontal impacts at typical speeds of motor vehicles. Decaptitation also causes instant death.