The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)

The killing of animals for reasons of mercy, to control disease transmission or maintain the health of animal populations, or for experimental purposes (ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION).

Active euthanasia of a patient at the patient's request and/or with the patient's consent.

The act or practice of killing for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person or animal from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)

Provision (by a physician or other health professional, or by a family member or friend) of support and/or means that gives a patient the power to terminate his or her own life. (from APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed).

Failing to prevent death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy by the withdrawal or withholding of life-prolonging treatment.

An assertion that an action apparently unobjectionable in itself would set in motion a train of events leading ultimately to an undesirable outcome. (From Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1995)

The right of the patient or the patient's representative to make decisions with regard to the patient's dying.

Conceptual response of the person to the various aspects of death, which are based on individual psychosocial and cultural experience.

Persons with an incurable or irreversible illness at the end stage that will result in death within a short time. (From O'Leary et al., Lexikon: Dictionary of Health Care Terms, Organizations, and Acronyms for the Era of Reform, 1994, p780)

Guideline for determining when it is morally permissible to perform an action to pursue a good end with knowledge that the action will also bring about bad results. It generally states that, in cases where a contemplated action has such double effect, the action is permissible only if: it is not wrong in itself; the bad result is not intended; the good result is not a direct causal result of the bad result; and the good result is "proportionate to" the bad result. (from Solomon, "Double Effect," in Becker, The Encyclopedia of Ethics, 1992)

The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families.

The intrinsic moral worth ascribed to a living being. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

Standards of conduct that distinguish right from wrong.

Withholding or withdrawal of a particular treatment or treatments, often (but not necessarily) life-prolonging treatment, from a patient or from a research subject as part of a research protocol. The concept is differentiated from REFUSAL TO TREAT, where the emphasis is on the health professional's or health facility's refusal to treat a patient or group of patients when the patient or the patient's representative requests treatment. Withholding of life-prolonging treatment is usually indexed only with EUTHANASIA, PASSIVE, unless the distinction between withholding and withdrawing treatment, or the issue of withholding palliative rather than curative treatment, is discussed.

Written, witnessed declarations in which persons request that if they become disabled beyond reasonable expectation of recovery, they be allowed to die rather than be kept alive by extraordinary means. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

Transfer of immunity from immunized to non-immune host by administration of serum antibodies, or transplantation of lymphocytes (ADOPTIVE TRANSFER).

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Belgium" is a country located in Western Europe, not a medical term or concept. It is not possible for me to provide a medical definition for it.

The interrelationship of medicine and religion.

Self-directing freedom and especially moral independence. An ethical principle holds that the autonomy of persons ought to be respected. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of nurses themselves, their patients, and their fellow practitioners, as well as their actions in the care of patients and in relations with their families.

Medical and nursing care of patients in the terminal stage of an illness.

A phenothiazine that is used in the treatment of PSYCHOSES.

The use of systematic methods of ethical examination, such as CASUISTRY or ETHICAL THEORY, in reasoning about moral problems.

The protection of animals in laboratories or other specific environments by promoting their health through better nutrition, housing, and care.

Persons trained in philosophical or theological ethics who work in clinical, research, public policy, or other settings where they bring their expertise to bear on the analysis of ethical dilemmas in policies or cases. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

The doctrines and policies of the Nazis or the National Social German Workers party, which ruled Germany under Adolf Hitler from 1933-1945. These doctrines and policies included racist nationalism, expansionism, and state control of the economy. (from Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. and American Heritage College Dictionary, 3d ed.)

Traumatic or experimentally induced separation of the head from the body in an animal or human.

Laws and regulations, pertaining to the field of medicine, proposed for enactment or enacted by a legislative body.

The science and technology dealing with the procurement, breeding, care, health, and selection of animals used in biomedical research and testing.

Derivatives of BENZOIC ACID that contain one or more amino groups attached to the benzene ring structure. Included under this heading are a broad variety of acid forms, salts, esters, and amides that include the aminobenzoate structure.

Compliance by health personnel or proxies with the stipulations of ADVANCE DIRECTIVES (or similar directives such as RESUSCITATION ORDERS) when patients are unable to direct their own care.

Declarations by patients, made in advance of a situation in which they may be incompetent to decide about their own care, stating their treatment preferences or authorizing a third party to make decisions for them. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

Country located in EUROPE. It is bordered by the NORTH SEA, BELGIUM, and GERMANY. Constituent areas are Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, formerly included in the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES.

The study of religion and religious belief, or a particular system or school of religious beliefs and teachings (from online Cambridge Dictionary of American English, 2000 and WordNet: An Electronic Lexical Database, 1997)

The teaching ascribed to Gautama Buddha (ca. 483 B.C.) holding that suffering is inherent in life and that one can escape it into nirvana by mental and moral self-purification. (Webster, 3d ed)

The absence of a useful purpose or useful result in a diagnostic procedure or therapeutic intervention. The situation of a patient whose condition will not be improved by treatment or instances in which treatment preserves permanent unconsciousness or cannot end dependence on intensive medical care. (From Ann Intern Med 1990 Jun 15;112(12):949)

Care alleviating symptoms without curing the underlying disease. (Stedman, 25th ed)

An adrenergic alpha-2 agonist used as a sedative, analgesic and centrally acting muscle relaxant in VETERINARY MEDICINE.

Attitudes of personnel toward their patients, other professionals, toward the medical care system, etc.

The attitude of a significant portion of a population toward any given proposition, based upon a measurable amount of factual evidence, and involving some degree of reflection, analysis, and reasoning.

'Laboratory animals' are non-human creatures that are intentionally used in scientific research, testing, and education settings to investigate physiological processes, evaluate the safety and efficacy of drugs or medical devices, and teach anatomy, surgical techniques, and other healthcare-related skills.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

A massive slaughter, especially the systematic mass extermination of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps prior to and during World War II.

Duties that are based in ETHICS, rather than in law.

An evanescent cutaneous reaction occurring when antibody is injected into a local area on the skin and antigen is subsequently injected intravenously along with a dye. The dye makes the rapidly occurring capillary dilatation and increased vascular permeability readily visible by leakage into the reaction site. PCA is a sensitive reaction for detecting very small quantities of antibodies and is also a method for studying the mechanisms of immediate hypersensitivity.

The killing of one person by another.

Drug-induced depression of consciousness during which patients cannot be easily aroused but respond purposely following repeated painful stimulation. The ability to independently maintain ventilatory function may be impaired. (From: American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines)

The ability to understand the nature and effect of the act in which the individual is engaged. (From Black's Law Dictionary, 6th ed).

The state or quality of being kind, charitable, or beneficial. (from American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed). The ethical principle of BENEFICENCE requires producing net benefit over harm. (Bioethics Thesaurus)