iron lung

noun

: a device for artificial respiration in which rhythmic alternations in the air pressure in a chamber surrounding a patient's chest force air into and out of the lungs

Examples of iron lung in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Klaus flings himself, with a dead-in-the-eyes, hardly atoning resignation off a roof, only to live and end up in perhaps the worst possible punishment: surviving in an iron lung, left to be cared for by his long-suffering, chainsmoking wife Griselda (Marisa Paredes). —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 June 2024

What else: In another section of the attraction, an iron lung is now on display. —Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2024

By Monday morning, newspapers carried the sad news that Westwater had lost her fight for life after four days in an iron lung. —Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2024

In March 2023, he was declared the longest surviving iron lung patient in the world by the Guinness World Records. —Mira Cheng, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

iron lung

noun

: a device for artificial respiration in which the air pressure in a chamber surrounding a patient's chest changes in a rhythm and forces air into and out of the lungs

Medical Definition

iron lung

noun

: a device for artificial respiration in which rhythmic alternations in the air pressure in a chamber surrounding a patient's chest force air into and out of the lungs especially when the nerves governing the chest muscles fail to function because of polio

called also Drinker respirator