mechanical ventilation

Mechanical ventilation is supporting or taking over breathing with the help of a device, a ventilator, when someone can no longer breathe adequately on their own. This can happen in various ways, for example with a mask over the nose and mouth or through a tube in the windpipe. Mechanical ventilation is used, among other things, in severe lung problems, after major surgery, or when the muscles needed for breathing have become too weak. In some incurable diseases that affect the lungs or muscles, mechanical ventilation may become relevant at a certain point in the disease course. The term appears on a site about incurable diseases because it is an important topic in discussions about care for serious illness.