What is the term for the death of the entire organism?

The term used to describe the death of the entire organism is somatic death. This refers to the cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism, leading to the end of life. When somatic death occurs, it signifies that the individual is no longer capable of biological functions such as respiration, circulation, and metabolic processes.

Clinical death and brain death are related concepts but do not encompass the death of the entire organism in the same way. Clinical death usually refers to the cessation of heartbeat and breathing, which can sometimes be reversible with resuscitation efforts. Brain death, on the other hand, indicates a complete and irreversible loss of all brain function, including functions of the brain stem, but the body may still be maintained on life support for a time. Conversely, cellular death relates to the death of individual cells rather than the organism as a whole, thus distinguishing it from somatic death.