Ventilator — Questions and answers
Read the full story
What problem did Dr. Philip Drinker see that made him want to find a mechanical way to help people breathe?
Choices
- A. People struggling for air when their breathing muscles stopped working. ✓
- B. Too many people getting colds in the winter.
- C. Patients having trouble sleeping at night.
- D. Hospitals running out of blankets.
Answer: A. People struggling for air when their breathing muscles stopped working.
From page 1
What was the 'impossible challenge' that Dr. Eleanor Vance and Martha Jones talked about for polio patients?
Choices
- A. Finding enough food for everyone.
- B. Replicating natural breathing for a long time when muscles stopped working. ✓
- C. Learning new languages quickly.
- D. Running very fast races.
Answer: B. Replicating natural breathing for a long time when muscles stopped working.
From page 2
Why did Engineer Thomas Miller's positive pressure balloon prototype not work well?
Choices
- A. It was too small to fit a person.
- B. It caused more harm than good and the patient fought it. ✓
- C. It made too much noise.
- D. It used the wrong color of paint.
Answer: B. It caused more harm than good and the patient fought it.
From page 3
What was the big new idea from Dr. Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw for helping people breathe?
Choices
- A. To make a very soft pillow.
- B. To put the patient's body in an airtight chamber and change the air pressure outside the chest. ✓
- C. To give patients warm soup.
- D. To tell funny jokes to make patients laugh.
Answer: B. To put the patient's body in an airtight chamber and change the air pressure outside the chest.
From page 4
What did Engineer David Chen and Dr. Anya Sharma say was very important for the Iron Lung to work safely?
Choices
- A. Making sure the machine was painted a pretty color.
- B. Adjusting the negative pressure and cycle rate precisely. ✓
- C. Having soft music playing nearby.
- D. Putting flowers in the room.
Answer: B. Adjusting the negative pressure and cycle rate precisely.
From page 5
How does the Iron Lung help someone breathe, according to Dr. Evelyn Reed?
Choices
- A. It pushes air into the patient's mouth directly.
- B. It makes a loud noise to wake the patient up.
- C. It draws air out of a sealed chamber, creating a vacuum that pulls the chest wall outwards. ✓
- D. It gives the patient a special juice to drink.
Answer: C. It draws air out of a sealed chamber, creating a vacuum that pulls the chest wall outwards.
From page 6
Why was positive pressure ventilation, like what Dr. Forrest Bird pioneered, a big improvement over the Iron Lung?
Choices
- A. It was much louder and made more exciting sounds.
- B. It allowed patients to move around more easily because it was smaller and delivered air directly. ✓
- C. It only worked in the summertime.
- D. It made the room smell like cookies.
Answer: B. It allowed patients to move around more easily because it was smaller and delivered air directly.
From page 7
What was the main reason the Iron Lung was so important during the polio epidemics?
Choices
- A. It made a great toy for children.
- B. It helped save the lives of millions of people afflicted by polio. ✓
- C. It was used to store food.
- D. It was a good place to keep hats.
Answer: B. It helped save the lives of millions of people afflicted by polio.
From page 8