What is Ventilator?
A '''ventilator''' is a [[machine]] which artificially moves [[air]] in and out of the [[lungs]] of a [[patient]] in order to help them [[breathe]] if that patient cannot breathe properly on their own. Some ventilators can also be used in order give patients [[anesthesia]] and can be part of an [[anesthetic machine]]. ==How do they work== There are different types of ventilators. They can vary or work differently, but they all help pump air into and out of the lungs using [[pressure]]. ===Manual resuscitators=== [[File:Staff Sgt. Claudia Bennett, left, a medic, from 7217th Medical Support Unit out of Miami, Fla., uses a bag valve mask on an injured Soldier on Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Aug. 2, 2011 110802-A-AJ827-497.jpg|thumb|A military [[medic]] using a bag-valve mask on a [[wounded in action|wounded soldier]].]] Some types of ventilators require someone else to make them work by hand and help the patient breathe for a short period of time. These are called manual resuscitators. Bag-valve masks (BMVs) have an oxygen mask which covers the [[nose]] and [[mouth]] of the patient, a one-way valve attached between the mask and the bag which filters the moving air and prevents the air to be breathed back into the bag, and an inflatable bag which holds the air in and is squeezed by [[hand]]. An operator squeezes the bag which forces air into the patient's lungs, and as the hand releases the bag is the patient breathes out into the outer environment and the bag refills itself with outside air. The bag is squeezed and released by hand repeatedly in order to keep the patient breathing. [[Amnesia]] bags is another type of manual resuscitator in which the bag does not refill itself with air as the patient is breathing. Instead, the bag is filled with air or [[gas]] beforehand and the bag is either squeezed by hand or the patient can inhale the air or gas inside the bag if they can breathe on their own. ===Mechanical ventilators=== Mechanical ventilators work by themselves without manual operation and are usually cont