Definition

1. Noun:
   • A medical device for artificial respiration: An "iron lung" is a large, sealed chamber that encloses a patient's body up to the neck. It uses alternating air pressure within the chamber to mechanically force air into and out of the patient's lungs, assisting or replacing natural breathing.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Before the polio vaccine, many patients relied on an iron lung to breathe.
  • The museum has a historical iron lung on display to show medical technology from the mid-20th century.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term "iron lung" is strongly associated with the treatment of poliomyelitis (polio) patients in the 20th century, before widespread vaccination.
  • The image of rows of patients in iron lungs became a powerful symbol of the polio epidemic.

Variants and Related Words

• Negative pressure ventilator: This is the more technical, modern term for the type of respirator an iron lung represents.
  • Modern negative pressure ventilators are more compact than the original iron lungs.

Synonyms

• Respirator: A general term for a device that supports breathing.
• Ventilator: A broader term for machines that move breathable air into and out of the lungs.

Related Phrases

• To be in an iron lung: An idiom describing a person who is dependent on this device for survival.
  • After contracting polio as a child, he spent years in an iron lung.

Noun

1. respirator that produces alternations in air pressure in a chamber surrounding a patient's chest to force air into and out of the lungs thus providing artificial respiration