Vegetative state

A vegetative state (VS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU)^[1] is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative state, the patient is classified as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). This diagnosis is classified as a permanent vegetative state some months (three in the US and six in the UK) after a non-traumatic brain injury or one year after a traumatic injury. The term unresponsive wakefulness syndrome may be alternatively used,^[2] as "vegetative state" has some negative connotations among the public.^[3]