Visited with Speed and Dweeb.
THis was a bit of a geeky momentous occasion for me and Speedio as this was the trip that completed our "Iron Lung Hat Trick". THis one looked stable enough to get in so we each had a turn at trying to cure our imaginary Polio.
The rest of the hospital has taken a bit of a battering so it's amazing that the iron lung has stayed in such good condition. The sign next to it said it had been there as part of the hospital museum but ignoring that, it's nice to think it was used there as well
With so many places to see on this trip, we pretty much located the lung and skitted round the rest of the hospital taking a few photos before heading to Selby.
Just in case you want to know more about iron lungs and their uses, I'll copy and paste this little ditty from our good friends at Wikipedia. I think they're bloody brilliant
An iron lung is a machine that enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability. It is a form of medical ventilator. Properly, it is called a negative pressure ventilator.
Humans, like many other organisms, breathe by negative pressure breathing: the rib cage expands and the diaphragm pulls down, expanding the chest cavity. This causes the pressure in the chest cavity to decrease, and the lungs expand to fill the space. This, in turn, causes the pressure of the air inside the lungs to fall (it becomes negative, relative to the atmosphere), and air flows into the lungs from the atmosphere: inhalation. When the chest cavity is contracted, the reverse happens and the person exhales. If a person loses part or all of the ability to control the muscles involved, breathing becomes difficult or impossible.
The person using the iron lung is placed into the central chamber, a cylindrical steel drum. A door allowing the head and neck to remain free is then closed, forming a sealed, air-tight compartment enclosing the rest of the person's body. Pumps that control airflow periodically decrease and increase the air pressure within the chamber, and particularly, on the chest. When the pressure is below that within the lungs, the lungs expand and atmospheric pressure pushes air from outside the chamber in via the person's nose and airways to keep the lungs filled; when the pressure goes above that within the lungs, the reverse occurs, and air is expelled. In this manner, the iron lung mimics the physiological action of breathing: by periodically altering intrathoracic pressure, it causes air to flow in and out of the lungs. The iron lung is a form of non-invasive therapy.
Here's the pics!
THis was a bit of a geeky momentous occasion for me and Speedio as this was the trip that completed our "Iron Lung Hat Trick". THis one looked stable enough to get in so we each had a turn at trying to cure our imaginary Polio.
The rest of the hospital has taken a bit of a battering so it's amazing that the iron lung has stayed in such good condition. The sign next to it said it had been there as part of the hospital museum but ignoring that, it's nice to think it was used there as well
With so many places to see on this trip, we pretty much located the lung and skitted round the rest of the hospital taking a few photos before heading to Selby.
Just in case you want to know more about iron lungs and their uses, I'll copy and paste this little ditty from our good friends at Wikipedia. I think they're bloody brilliant
An iron lung is a machine that enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability. It is a form of medical ventilator. Properly, it is called a negative pressure ventilator.
Humans, like many other organisms, breathe by negative pressure breathing: the rib cage expands and the diaphragm pulls down, expanding the chest cavity. This causes the pressure in the chest cavity to decrease, and the lungs expand to fill the space. This, in turn, causes the pressure of the air inside the lungs to fall (it becomes negative, relative to the atmosphere), and air flows into the lungs from the atmosphere: inhalation. When the chest cavity is contracted, the reverse happens and the person exhales. If a person loses part or all of the ability to control the muscles involved, breathing becomes difficult or impossible.
The person using the iron lung is placed into the central chamber, a cylindrical steel drum. A door allowing the head and neck to remain free is then closed, forming a sealed, air-tight compartment enclosing the rest of the person's body. Pumps that control airflow periodically decrease and increase the air pressure within the chamber, and particularly, on the chest. When the pressure is below that within the lungs, the lungs expand and atmospheric pressure pushes air from outside the chamber in via the person's nose and airways to keep the lungs filled; when the pressure goes above that within the lungs, the reverse occurs, and air is expelled. In this manner, the iron lung mimics the physiological action of breathing: by periodically altering intrathoracic pressure, it causes air to flow in and out of the lungs. The iron lung is a form of non-invasive therapy.
Here's the pics!
