Artificial Respiration
Artificial Respiration, forcing of air into and out of the lungs of one person by another person or by mechanical means. It is usually employed during suspension of natural respiration caused by disease, such as poliomyelitis or cardiac failure; by electric shock; by an overdose of depressive drugs such as morphine, barbiturates , or alcohol; or by suffocation resulting from drowning , breathing noxious gases, or blockage of the respiratory tract. If the brain is deprived of oxygen for five minutes, it may be permanently damaged; slightly longer periods without oxygen usually result in death. The exception is drowning in very cold water, in which the body's oxygen demand is greatly reduced; people have been revived after being submerged for one-half hour in cold water. In the mouth-to-mouth method the unconscious person is laid faceup with the head tilted as far back as possible to prevent the tongue from blocking the air passages. The victim's nose is then pinched shut, and...