the.com/respirator
a machine that breathes for you while reminding you how miraculous doing it yourself is
means A device that helps you breathe — either a mask that filters the air you take in, or a machine that pushes air into your lungs when you can't do it yourself.
from From Latin 'respirare,' to breathe again — built from 're-' (again) plus 'spirare,' to breathe. That same 'spirare' fans out into a whole family of breath-words: inspire (breathe in), expire (breathe out, then the grim sense), aspire (breathe toward), even spirit itself, once literally the breath of life. So a respirator is, at root, a machine for breathing-again — fitting for a word that became common in the medical and industrial worlds of the 19th century, as masks and breathing-aids took shape.
- polio born
- Iron lungs saved thousands during 1900s polio epidemics
- negative pressure
- Iron lungs sucked chests open instead of pushing air
- N95 name
- Blocks 95 percent of airborne particles, hence the number
- longest user
- One man lived in an iron lung over 70 years
- facial hair foe
- Beards break the seal and ruin respirator protection
iron lung — negative pressure ventilator used for polio patients, peaked in 1950s with thousands in use
ventilator icu machine — positive pressure mechanical ventilator used in hospitals, critical during covid-19 pandemic 2020-2021