Articles: ventilators.
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The Penlon Oxford Ventilator functioned well to 6 atmospheres absolute in an air environment and to 31 atmospheres absolute in an oxyhelium environment, as assessed remotely utilising a lung ventilator performance analyser. It features easily comprehensible controls and functions, and its use in prolonged ventilatory support could be taught to non-anaesthetists with relative ease. In addition to its relative simplicity, it is reliable, readily available, and requires only fitting with a male Schrader valve for use at high pressures. The ventilator is recommended for ventilatory support under extreme hyperbaric conditions.
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The intellectual and technological roots of respirators and respiratory care may be traced back hundreds of years. The clinical evolution has taken the better part of a century, and it has been most closely linked to the development of open-chest surgery. Resuscitation and the treatment of poliomyelitis also have contributed ideas and technology to this evolution. ⋯ Open-chest surgery forced the change from single-agent deep anesthesia with spontaneous ventilation to a balanced technique, using multiple drugs or agents, with controlled ventilation. Open-chest surgery also necessitated that physicians specialize in anesthesiology. Scandinavian scientists and physicians have contributed greatly to the field of respirators and respiratory care, as has the specialty of anesthesiology.