The determination and pronouncement of when a person has died has medical, ethical, and legal implications. Laws vary from state to state, and death is usually defined in a state’s statutes.

Definitions and terminology may vary from state to state but generally a person is dead when, according to ordinary standards of medical practice, there is irreversible cessation of the person's spontaneous respiratory and circulatory functions. If artificial means of support preclude a determination that a person's spontaneous respiratory and circulatory functions have ceased, the person is dead when, in the announced opinion of a physician, according to ordinary standards of medical practice, there is irreversible cessation of all spontaneous brain function.

Death occurs when the relevant functions cease. But a formal pronouncement of death is not a legal determination of the cause, manner, or time of death.

In Maryland, the determination of death is governed by state statutes that align with the medical and ethical standards commonly accepted. According to Maryland law, a person is legally dead when there is an irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or when there is an irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, as determined by a physician. The use of artificial life support may necessitate the latter criteria to establish death. The pronouncement of death by a physician is based on these medical criteria and must adhere to accepted medical standards. It is important to note that while the pronouncement of death establishes that death has occurred, it does not legally determine the cause, manner, or exact time of death. These aspects may be determined through further medical examination or investigation, such as an autopsy or a death inquest.