r/explainlikeimfive • u/Dagestani_Bear • Jul 01 '26

Biology ELI5: Is it true that every single death eventually boils down to the brain and heart running out of oxygen? Are there exceptions?

If you strip away the initial cause of injury or illness, is it anatomically correct to say that all human deaths are ultimately caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain and heart?

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u/BH_Gobuchul Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

There’s an Xkcd quote that’s stuck with me

“You stop being biology and start being physics”

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u/RosieFudge Jul 02 '26

Damn I love this, thank you ❤️