How did the iron lung treat coal gas poisoning?
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Answer:
A negative pressure ventilator, also known as iron lung (colloquialism) or pulmotor (generic trademark), is a mechanical respirator which enables a person to breathe on his or her own in a normal manner, when muscle control is lost, or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability. Need for this treatment may result from certain diseases (e.g. polio, botulism) and certain poisons (e.g. barbiturates, tubocurarine).
The patient lies within the chamber, which when sealed provides an effectively oscillating atmospheric pressure. This particular machine was donated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Museum by the family of poliomyelitis patient Barton Hebert of Covington, Louisiana, who had used the device from the late 1950s until his death in 2003.
Its use is largely obsolete in modern medicine, as superior breathing therapies have been developed, and due to the eradication of polio.