Chapter 4 Summary

In this chapter, "Doors to Death of the Aged," Dr. Nuland offers details and case studies on death of the elderly. Medical prognoses of stroke patients, the number three killer of the elderly in the United States, are provided. In the case studies offered, Dr. Nuland acknowledges the assistance of Dr. G. J. Walker Smith, the director of the autopsy service of the Yale-New Haven Hospital.

It is in these case studies that Dr. Nuland provides the evidence that will backs his philosophy that 85 percent of the aging population will die from at least one of seven primary causes. These seven, what he refers to as the horsemen of death, are discussed in this chapter on aging and the death of the elderly. The horseman who will claim the elder's life will be identified by the manner in which his or her body...