Respirator

A device for maintaining respiration by artificial means.

Same as ventilator.

A mask worn to prevent someone breathing harmful gas or fumes.

An apparatus that modifies the air inhaled through it. A respirator may be a face mask worn by a firefighter, for example, to block the inhalation of dust particles or other undesirable items, such as smoke. A respirator may also be a life-supporting device (ventilator) that supplies oxygen or a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide given to someone who cannot breathe independently.

A device used to maintain the breathing movements of paralyzed patients. In the positive-pressure respirator air is blown into the patient’s lungs via a tube passed either through the mouth into the trachea or through a tracheostomy. Air is released from the lungs when the pressure from the respirator is relaxed. The iron lung is a type of respirator in which the patient is enclosed, except for the head, in an airtight container in which the air pressure is decreased and increased mechanically. This draws air into and out of the lungs, through the normal air passages. The cuirass respirator works on a similar principle, but leaves the limbs free.

A mask used to protect the user from a dusty, infectious, toxic, or hypoxic atmosphere. Colloquially, a “gas mask.”