<P> The syndrome was first described in 1940 by Ernst Kretschmer who called it apallic syndrome . The term persistent vegetative state was coined in 1972 by Scottish spinal surgeon Bryan Jennett and American neurologist Fred Plum to describe a syndrome that seemed to have been made possible by medicine 's increased capacities to keep patients ' bodies alive . </P>
where did the term vegetative state come from
Scottish spinal surgeon Bryan Jennett American neurologist Fred Plum