Respiratory therapy

A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators may be computerized microprocessor-controlled machines, but patients can also be ventilated with a simple, hand-operated bag valve mask. Ventilators are chiefly used in intensive-care medicine, home care, and emergency medicine (as standalone units) and in anesthesiology (as a component of an anesthesia machine).

use of high concentrations of oxygen as medical treatment

assisted breathing to support life

placement of a tube into the trachea through the mouth or nose to provide a patient with oxygen and anesthesia

Atelectasis is the partial collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absent gas exchange. More specifically collapse of alveoli. It is usually unilateral, affecting part or all of one lung. It is a condition where the alveoli are deflated down to little or no volume, as distinct from pulmonary consolidation, in which they are filled with liquid. It is often referred to informally as a collapsed lung, although more accurately it usually involves only a partial collapse, and that ambiguous term is also informally used for a fully collapsed lung caused by a pneumothorax.

method to mechanically assist or replace spontaneous breathing

An inhaler (puffer, asthma pump or allergy spray) is a medical device used for delivering medicines into the lungs through the work of a person's breathing. This allows medicines to be delivered to and absorbed in the lungs, which provides the ability for targeted medical treatment to this specific region of the body, as well as a reduction in the side effects of oral medications. There are a wide variety of inhalers, and they are commonly used to treat numerous medical conditions with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being among the most notable.

thumb|right|Doing spirometry Spirometry (meaning the measuring of breath) is the most common of the pulmonary function tests (PFTs). It measures lung function, specifically the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. Spirometry is helpful in assessing breathing patterns that identify conditions such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and COPD. It is also helpful as part of a system of health surveillance, in which breathing patterns are measured over time.

medical treatments at raised ambient pressure

A bronchodilator or broncholytic (although the latter occasionally includes secretory inhibition as well) is a substance that dilates the bronchi and bronchioles, decreasing resistance in the respiratory airway and increasing airflow to the lungs. Bronchodilators may be originating naturally within the body, or they may be medications administered for the treatment of breathing difficulties, usually in the form of inhalers. They are most useful in obstructive lung diseases, of which asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the most common conditions. They may be useful in bronchiol

homeostatic regulation of the pH of the body's extracellular fluid (ECF)

negative-pressure mechanically functioning respirator

In medicine, a nebulizer (American English) or nebuliser (English) is a drug delivery device used to administer medication in the form of a mist inhaled into the lungs. Nebulizers are commonly used for the treatment of asthma, cystic fibrosis, COPD and other respiratory diseases or disorders. They use oxygen, compressed air or ultrasonic power to break up solutions and suspensions into small aerosol droplets that are inhaled from the mouthpiece of the device. An aerosol is a mixture of gas and solid or liquid particles.

interface between the oxygen delivery system and the human user

measurements of the volume of air in the lungs

test of blood taken from an artery that measures the amounts of certain dissolved gases

breathing frequency; rate at which breathing occurs. This is usually measured in breaths per minute

describing pressure difference over an interface in fluid mechanics

person's maximum speed of expiration

chemical compound

Heliox is a breathing gas mixture of helium (He) and oxygen (O2). It is used as a medical treatment for patients with difficulty breathing because this mixture generates less resistance than atmospheric air when passing through the airways of the lungs, and thus requires less effort by a patient to breathe in and out of the lungs. It is also used as a breathing gas for deep ambient pressure diving as it is not narcotic at high pressure, and for its low work of breathing.

method in medicine of collecting a sample from the back of the nose

test to evaluate respiratory system

treatment

volume of air displaced between normal inhalation and exhalation

pharmaceutical drug

pressure in the lungs above atmospheric pressure that exists at the end of expiration

air that does not take part in gas exchange

medical condition

medical condition

use of epinephrine as medication

thumb|A man undergoing whole body plethysmography. thumb|A modern body plethysmograph using ultrasound

ratio of volume change per pressure change in the lung

category of respiratory disease characterized by airway obstruction

pneumonia caused by extended or improper use of a pulmonary mechanical ventilator

health profession

ventilator of freely-licensed design

canopy over a patient to provide supplemental oxygen

ratio used in the diagnosis of lung disease

partial pressure of blood gases

medical society

intervention for patients with chronic respiratory disease

A pneumograph, also known as a pneumatograph or spirograph, is a device for recording velocity and force of chest movements during respiration. While spirometry measures respiratory rate and other markers of respiratory health via analysis of the airflow from the lungs during inhalation and exhalation, pneumography measures the respiratory rate via chest motion.

Although the term has occasionally been used in other ways, in medical literature biotrauma is usually defined as a severe inflammatory response produced in the lungs of patients who breathe by means of a mechanical ventilator for a long period of time. The term was coined in a 1998 paper by L. N. Tremblay and A. S. Slutsky, titled Ventilator-induced injury: from barotrauma to biotrauma. The message of that paper was that barotrauma caused by pressure differentials is only one of several types of lung damage that a ventilator can produce.

test which tests blood to measure blood gas tension values

medical condition

lung function test measuring effect of pressure oscillation on airflow

medical intervention

medical intervention

Breath test for respiratory inflammation

the act of exhaling through tightly pressed, pursed lips

handheld device to improve lung function