How does a ventilator work?

Ventilators blow air-or air with extra oxygen-into the airways and then the lungs. The airways are pipes that carry oxygen-rich air to your lungs. They also carry carbon dioxide, a waste gas, out of your lungs.

The airways include your:

• Nose and linked air passages, called nasal cavities
• Mouth
• Larynx (LAR-ingks), or voice box
• Trachea (TRA-ke-ah), or windpipe
• Tubes called bronchial tubes or bronchi, and their branches