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First use of iron lung (Boston's Children Hospital)

An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator, a mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space to stimulate breathing.

An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator, a mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space to stimulate breathing. It assists breathing when muscle control is lost, or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability. Need for this treatment may result from diseases including polio and botulism and certain poisons (for example, barbiturates and tubocurarine).

The use of iron lungs is largely obsolete in modern medicine as more modern breathing therapies have been developed and due to the eradication of polio in most of the world.

Historical Significance

An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator, a mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space to stimulate breathing.

Events Before

  1. Vernon L. Smith is born

    Vernon L. Smith, American economist and nobel laureate, known for american economist and nobel laureate, was born on 1927-01-01.

  2. Communist uprising in West Sumatra

    Communist uprising in West Sumatra

  3. Louis B. Mayer head of film studio MGM announces the creation of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

    Louis Burt Mayer was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924.

  4. American comedian Jack Benny (32) weds American salesgirl Sadie Marks (later known as Mary Livingstone) (22) at the Clay

    American comedian Jack Benny (32) weds American salesgirl Sadie Marks (later known as Mary Livingstone) (22) at the Clayton Hotel in Waukegan, Illinois, until his death in 1974

  5. American "The Sun Also Rises" novelist Ernest Hemingway (27) and 1st wife Elizabeth Hadley Richardson (35) divorce after

    American "The Sun Also Rises" novelist Ernest Hemingway (27) and 1st wife Elizabeth Hadley Richardson (35) divorce after 6 years of marriage

Events After

  1. Australian cricket icon Don Bradman follows up a first-innings 79 by scoring 112 in the third Test against England in Me

    Australian cricket icon Don Bradman follows up a first-innings 79 by scoring 112 in the third Test against England in Melbourne; his first of 29 Test centuries

  2. Mitford sister Diana Mitford (18) marries Irish peer Bryan Walter Guinness (23) in the British society wedding of the ye

    Mitford sister Diana Mitford (18) marries Irish peer Bryan Walter Guinness (23) in the British society wedding of the year

  3. Vatican City, the world's smallest country, becomes an enclave of Rome

    Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), often shortened as the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state.

  4. Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, seven gangsters are killed, allegedly on Al Capone's orders

    Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, seven gangsters are killed, allegedly on Al Capone's orders

  5. Cleveland Indians become the first MLB team to permanently feature numbers on the backs of uniforms; numbers correspond

    Cleveland Indians become the first MLB team to permanently feature numbers on the backs of uniforms; numbers correspond to the position in the batting order

More from the 1920s

birth

Isaac Asimov is born

Isaac Asimov, American writer and biochemist, known for american writer and biochemist, was born on 1920-01-02.

birth

Charlie Munger is born

Charlie Munger, American businessman, known for american businessman, was born on 1924-01-01.

birth

Vernon L. Smith is born

Vernon L. Smith, American economist and nobel laureate, known for american economist and nobel laureate, was born on 1927-01-01.

Byelorussian Communist Organization is founded as a separate party

The Byelorussian Communist Organisation was a communist group in Belarus, led by Usievalad Ihnatoŭski.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on October 12, 1928?
An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator, a mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space to stimulate breathing. It assists breathing when muscle control is lost, or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability. Need for this treatment may result from diseases including polio and botulism and certain poisons (for example, barbiturates and tubocurarine).
Why is First use of iron lung (Boston's Children Hospital) significant?
An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator, a mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space to stimulate breathing.

Explore More

October 12 in HistoryYear 1928