Lung, Iron

Abstract

Respirator (or iron lung) manufactured by the J. H. Emerson Co., Cambridge, MA; rebuilt by Lifecare, Boulder, CO, in 1999; and formerly the property of Respironics, Inc., Murrysville (Pittsburgh), PA. Used chiefly for polio and infantile paralysis patients whose breathing mechanisms are inadequate or inactive. The device provides continuous artificial respiration by varying the pressure at regular intervals on the patient's chest without varying the pressure at the nose and mouth.