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In this podcast, Mervyn Singer talks about the link between stress and multiple organ failure. Often, the organs involved in multi-organ failure show no signs of structural damage or cell damage that would indicate these organs might be under stress. Stress might cause functional damage rather than structural damage. Stress is a normal coping mechanism which helps to deal with the various stressors we encounter. These mechanisms include changes in behaviour, as well as autonomic and hormonal modulation of various systems. These include inflammatory, immune, cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic systems. Human bodies are not designed to cope with the stresses of prolonged life. These stresses include old age, co-morbidities, prolonged critical illness, modern lifesaving drugs, and organ support. Mervyn discusses the evolution of various theories associated with stress. Walter Cannon discovered acute stress response in 1915 when he noticed the manifestation of nervous exhaustion as physical illness in soldi