Wiktionary
n. 1 An artificial system designed to provide oxygen in an environment that lacks oxygen. 2 (rfv-sense) (context medicine lang=zh) A machine that keeps the body of an ill or injured person alive. 3 (context medicine English) Maintenance of vital function of a critically ill or comatose person or a person undergoing surgery. 4 (''medicine'') The equipment and special procedures used for life support, 5 (context figuratively English) Means of sustaining existence or continuation of something, usually in an artificial manner when it should have changed or terminated in its natural environment.
WordNet
n. equipment that makes life possible in otherwise deadly environmental conditions; "the astronauts relied on their life-support systems" [syn: life-support system]
medical equipment that assists or replaces important bodily functions and so enables a patient to live who otherwise might not survive; "the patient is on life support" [syn: life-support system]
Wikipedia
Life support refers to the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic and advanced life support procedures; however, basic life support is sometimes provided at the scene of an emergency by family members or bystanders before emergency services arrive. In the case of cardiac injuries, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is initiated by bystanders or family members 25% of the time. Basic life support techniques, such as performing CPR on a victim of cardiac arrest, can double or even triple that patient's chance of survival. Other types of basic life support include relief from choking (which can be done by using the Heimlich maneuver), staunching of bleeding by direct compression and elevation above the heart (and if necessary, pressure on arterial pressure points and the use of a manufactured or improvised tourniquet), first aid, and the use of an automated external defibrillator.
The purpose of basic life support (abbreviated BLS) is to save lives in a variety of different situations that require immediate attention. These situations can include, but are not limited to, cardiac arrest, stroke, drowning, choking, accidental injuries, violence, severe allergic reactions, burns, hypothermia, birth complications, drug overdose, and alcohol intoxication. The most common emergency that requires BLS is cerebral hypoxia, a shortage of oxygen to the brain due to heart or respiratory failure. A victim of cerebral hypoxia may die within 8–10 minutes without basic life support procedures. BLS is the lowest level of emergency care, followed by advanced life support and critical care.
Life support, or aircrew life support, in aviation, is the field centered on, and related technologies used in, ensuring the safety of aircrew, particularly military aviation. This includes safety equipment capable of helping them survive in the case of a crash, accident, or malfunction.
Life support functions and technology are also prominent in the field of human spaceflight.
Category:Military aviation
Life support is a set of therapies for preserving a patient's life when essential body systems are not functioning sufficiently to sustain life.
Life support may also refer to the following:
Life Support was a comedy programme on Australia's SBS network which satirised lifestyle television programs. It ran for three seasons. On Australia Day 2006, a Life Support Marathon was shown on the Comedy Channel showing the first series and half of the second.
"Life Support" is the 59th episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 13th episode of the third season.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station located near a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy. In this episode, during pivotal negotiations with the Cardassians, Vedek Bareil Antos ( Philip Anglim) is severely injured.
Life Support is a 2007 American film starring Queen Latifah. It is loosely based on the real-life story of Ana Wallace, a HIV-positive woman.
The film premiered January 26, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and premiered on HBO on March 10, 2007.
Life Support is the fourth studio album by Australian soft rock band Air Supply, released in 1979. The album contains the original version of the later hit single "Lost in Love", which peaked at #1 on Australian charts. "Just Another Woman" would also be re-released on the album '' Lost in Love.
It was also initially released in picture disc format.
Usage examples of "life support".
They couldn't avoid the legally mandated color codings for emergency life support and other disaster-related access and service points, but they'd paid through the nose for permits to build double-high compartments, then used the extra height to accommodate dropped ceilings that hid the snake nests of pipes and power conduits which covered deckheads elsewhere.
NASA was somewhat surprised by my phone call asking him to confirm some specific information on CELSS--Controlled Environment Life Support Systems.
Between the two of them, they wrestled him into his seat, got him connected to life support and strapped down.