persistent vegetative state

views updated

persistent vegetative state (PVS) (per-sist-ĕnt) n. 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, but there is no response to any form of communication and no reason to suppose that there is any awareness of the environment. Medical treatment may be legally withdrawn from a patient in PVS but permission must first be granted by the courts. Compare locked-in syndrome.

More From encyclopedia.com