eli5 what is the biological/physiological difference between a medically-induced coma and a coma that the body slips into by itself?
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Medically induced coma is more akin to normal sleep just perpetual. Injury caused coma is a result of your brain matter being damaged, which causes parts of it to turn off so that they can repair. It can range from being indistinguishable from medical coma to the person having an elevated or even partial awareness of their surroundings.
Medical comas are induced by drugs, so the doctors are in complete control of the level of consciousness the person is at, and ideally can control how quickly and when the person comes out of it by reducing the drugs. A natural coma, caused by injury/infection etc, can vary in the levels of consciousness and how long it lasts. Doctors can add or alter medication to deepen the natural coma, and they can try to bring people out of it, but the person’s reactions will be much less predictable.
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