mechanical ventilator

noun

plural mechanical ventilators

: a mechanized device that enables the delivery or movement of air or oxygen into the lungs of a patient whose breathing has ceased, is failing, or is inadequate : an automated ventilator

Note: Modern, computerized, mechanical ventilators typically monitor and customize gas delivery, maintain a constant pressure in the lungs to prevent the alveoli from collapsing, and deliver air and oxygen to the lungs by way of an endotracheal tube.

Examples of mechanical ventilator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Treatment for severe cases may require mechanical ventilators to help with breathing. —TIME, 11 June 2024

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), and mechanical ventilator devices in 2021. —James Powel, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024

About 60% of the nearly 18,000 new spinal cord injuries annually will need help breathing from a mechanical ventilator, health experts say. —Julie Washington, cleveland, 25 July 2023

In normal times, the United States’ hospitals have little in the way of reserves and therefore little to no surge capacity for emergency situations: not enough beds, not enough emergency equipment such as mechanical ventilators, not enough N95 masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE). —Michael T. Osterholm, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020

Five kids had to be put on mechanical ventilators, and two died. —Lisa Bain, Good Housekeeping, 1 July 2023

The operating room will be equipped with standard surgical equipment, including an anesthesia machine, surgical table, an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine to monitor your heart rate, and a mechanical ventilator to deliver supplemental oxygen if needed. —Stuart Hershman, Verywell Health, 27 June 2023

In one recent effort, researchers at Northwestern University have applied machine learning to electronic health records to produce a more granular, day-to-day analysis of pneumonia in an intensive care unit (ICU), where patients received assistance breathing from mechanical ventilators. —IEEE Spectrum, 3 June 2023

In rare cases, intubation with a mechanical ventilator is required. —Sumathi Reddy, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

mechanical ventilator

noun

: a mechanized device that enables the delivery or movement of air or oxygen into the lungs of a patient whose breathing has ceased, is failing, or is inadequate : an automated ventilator

Note: Modern, computerized, mechanical ventilators typically monitor and customize gas delivery, maintain a constant pressure in the lungs to prevent the alveoli from collapsing, and deliver air and oxygen to the lungs by way of an endotracheal tube.