Lazarus sign

Not to be confused with Lazarus syndrome.
Brain death - Lazarus sign

The Lazarus sign or Lazarus reflex is a reflex movement in brain-dead or brainstem failure patients,[1] which causes them to briefly raise their arms and drop them crossed on their chests (in a position similar to some Egyptian mummies).[2][3] The phenomenon is named after the Biblical figure Lazarus of Bethany,[4] whom Jesus raised from the dead according to the Gospel of John.

  1. ^ "Brain death and brainstem failure". The Egyptian Society of Medical Ethics. 2009. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  2. ^ S.G Han; et al. (2006). "Reflex Movements in Patients with Brain Death: A Prospective Study in A Tertiary Medical Center". Journal of Korean Medical Science. 21 (3): 588–90. doi:10.3346/jkms.2006.21.3.588. ISSN 1011-8934. PMC 2729975. PMID 16778413.
  3. ^ Allan H Ropper (1984). "Unusual spontaneous movements in brain-dead patients". Neurology. 34 (8): 1089–90. doi:10.1212/wnl.34.8.1089. PMID 6540387. S2CID 2351431. Archived from the original on 2018-08-10. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Machado was invoked but never defined (see the help page).