How do ventilators work? - Alex Gendler
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7,733 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
In the 16th century, physician Andreas Vesalius described how a suffocating animal could be kept alive by inserting a tube into its trachea and blowing air to inflate its lungs. Today, Vesalius’s treatise is recognized as the first description of mechanical ventilation— a crucial practice in modern medicine. So how do our modern ventilators work? Alex Gendler explains the life-saving technology.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
See here for a history of mechanical ventilation, or here for a comprehensive overview of its current clinical applications. A video walkthrough of ventilator operation can be found here.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Alex Gendler
- Director Igor Coric
- Narrator Addison Anderson
- Storyboard Artist Igor Coric
- Animator Igor Coric
- Art Director Igor Coric
- Compositor Igor Coric
- Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal, Dan Kwartler
- Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Fact-Checker Eden Girma
- Science Consultant Melvin Sanicas, David Biello
- Special Thanks Natalie Coleman