[Medical ethics in terminal stage viewed from emergency and critical care in Japan]

In Japan, several types of the proposal for terminal care have been published by Medical Association, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, etc. Among them, the guidelines proposed by Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM) are appreciated as most concretely expressed ethically as well as practically regarding the judgment of terminal stages, the medical ethics needed through the processes thereafter and the methods on withdrawal or withholding in terminal care. The author explained and considered the terminal care provided by medical professionals for the absolutely desperate including the brain dead following post-cardiac arrest syndrome for instance, according to the guidelines by JAAM. The best practice selected for the terminally ill ought to be reasonable and suitable from the aspects of both medical science and ethics.