Artificial ventilation

Artificial ventilation
Respiratory therapist examining a mechanically ventilated patient on an Intensive Care Unit.
Other names	artificial respiration
Specialty	pulmonary
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Artificial ventilation or respiration is when a machine assists in a metabolic process to exchange gases in the body by pulmonary ventilation, external respiration, and internal respiration.^[1] A machine called a ventilator provides the person air manually by moving air in and out of the lungs when an individual is unable to breathe on their own. The ventilator prevents the accumulation of carbon dioxide so that the lungs don't collapse due to the low pressure.^[2][3] The use of artificial ventilation can be traced back to the seventeenth century. There are three ways of exchanging gases in the body: manual methods, mechanical ventilation, and neurostimulation.^[4]

Here are some key words used throughout the article. The process of forcing air into and out of the lungs is known as ventilation. The process by which oxygen is taken in by the bloodstream is called oxygenation. Lung compliance is the capacity of the lungs to contract and expand. The obstruction of airflow via the respiratory tract is known as airway resistance. The amount of ventilated air that is not involved in gas exchange is known as dead-space ventilation.^[5][tone]