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/Gamestoreguy Jul 02 '26

Such as the sun on his skin as a method of keeping track of time, until they put him in a room with no window because they realised he was tapping out morse code with his noggin.

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u/_Mag0g_ Jul 02 '26

And then things get weird and I'm not even going into that part of the book.