| 释义 |
persistent vegetative state
(PVS) The condition of living without consciousness or the ability to initiate voluntary action, as a result of brain damage. People in the vegetative state may sometimes give the appearance of being awake and conscious, with open eyes. They may make random movements of the limbs or head and may pick or rub with the fingers, but there is no response to any form of communication and no reason to suppose that there is any awareness of the environment. The law currently allows medical treatment to be withdrawn from patients in PVS but permission must first be granted by the courts. The leading case on this issue remains Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] AC 789 (UKHL). |