In the case of traumatic brain injury, doctors sometimes induce a coma. This effective shutdown of brain function naturally occurs only in cases of extreme trauma, so why would doctors seek to mimic it in patients already suffering from head wounds and other issues?
The answer lies in the science behind general anesthesia, which some 60,000 patients undergo every day. A review paper in the December 30, 2010 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine reveals that such anesthesia is, essentially, a reversible coma.
That is exactly what doctors are aiming for in the case of a true medically induced coma, often using the same drugs or extreme hypothermia induced by exposure to a cold environment to halt blood flow entirely and permit surgery on the aorta. Shutting down function can give the brain time to heal without the body performing radical triage by shutting off blood flow to damaged sections.
Source: {http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-a-medically-induced-coma/}
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