Living Dead: a person who is alive but who appears to be dead. This occurs because the obvious signs of death are misleading. More than one person has been found to be alive just before he or she was to have been embalmed for burial. It can take hours to revive a drowning victim, who may die only if those administering the artificial respiration give up too soon. The mammalian diving reflex operates in some human beings. A drowning victim undergoing this reflex will have every physical appearance of being dead.  However, water has not entered the lungs and blood circulates slowly to the brain, lungs and heart. Such persons can remain under water 30 minutes or longer and be revived with no lasting impairment to mind or body. Exposure victims can resemble a cold corpse but they often cling to life. A torn and mangled body can be put back together and the victim may recover. Do not give a person up for dead until his body is cold, eye glazed, muscles stiff, lips blue, pupils dilated, and mouth agape, with no evidence of pulse or heartbeat. Refuse to believe in death until the weight of evidence leaves no doubt in your mind. Until such time continue CPR or other appropriate first aid or medical practice.

NOTE: To confirm information on the mammalian diving reflex, contact the U.S. Coast Guard or the University of Michigan Medical School.