Mechanical ventilation

In medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method of artificial ventilation where mechanical means is used to assist or replace spontaneous breathing. This may involve a machine called a ventilator or the breathing may be assisted by an Anesthesiologist, registered nurse, physician, physician assistant, respiratory therapist, paramedic, or other suitable person compressing a bag or set of bellows. Mechanical ventilation is termed "invasive" if it involves any instrument penetrating through the mouth (such as an endotracheal tube) or the skin (such as a tracheostomy tube). There are two main modes of mechanical ventilation within the two divisions: positive pressure ventilation, where air (or another gas mix) is pushed into the trachea, and negative pressure ventilation, where air is, in essence, sucked into the lungs.