Traditional Indian medicine systems could explain this phenomenon. The "life" of a human being is categorized as 5 different energies, each having a specific function. (Pancha Pranas). Death is seen as a process where these energies exit the body in a certain sequence over a period of time. It is said that it is possible to reverse this process till a certain point with intervention. A small extract on what these 5 energies are: https://imgur.com/2GvgEqB This is from the book "Death: An inside story"