ventilator

An apparatus designed to control air that is breathed through it or to either intermittently or continuously assist or control pulmonary ventilation; called also respirator. Use of a mechanical ventilator is indicated as a supportive measure in patients suffering from respiratory paralysis and in those with ventilatory failure manifested by either alveolar hypoventilation or distributive hypoxia, or both. It is a major activity in human nursing but of almost no importance in animals except for anesthetic purposes. See bird ventilator, cambridge ventilator, flomasta ventilator, manley ventilator, minivent ventilator, north american Dräger.