LIFE SUPPORT Meaning and
Definition
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Life support refers to the medical equipment, techniques, or interventions provided to sustain vital bodily functions and preserve a person's life when their own natural bodily processes are insufficient or failing. It is primarily used when an individual is critically ill, injured, or experiencing a severe medical emergency, such as a cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, or organ failure.
Life support systems encompass a range of measures aimed at maintaining essential bodily functions, including respiration, circulation, and metabolism. Examples of life support interventions include mechanical ventilation to assist breathing, cardiac defibrillation to restore normal heart rhythm, dialysis to filter waste products from the blood when kidney function is compromised, and intravenous medications to stabilize blood pressure.
The goal of life support is to sustain basic physiological processes until the underlying condition can be treated, allowing the body to recover and resume normal functions. However, it is important to note that life support is not a cure for the underlying condition; rather, it buys time for medical professionals to address and treat the root cause.
Life support can be temporary, such as during surgery or a critical period of illness, or it can be long-term or even permanent for individuals with chronic conditions or irreversible organ failure. Decisions regarding the initiation, continuation, or withdrawal of life support may involve complex ethical, legal, and personal considerations, and are typically made by medical professionals in consultation with the patient, their family, and in some cases, with the guidance of advance directives or designated healthcare proxies.
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Etymology of LIFE SUPPORT
The word "life support" is a compound of the noun "life" and the verb "support". "Life" originated from the Old English word "līf", which can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word "*libam". It is related to the Dutch word "lijf" and the German word "Leib", meaning "body". The verb "support" came from the Latin word "supportare", which is a combination of "sub-" (meaning "under") and "portare" (meaning "to carry"). Over time, the term "life support" emerged to describe the medical equipment or techniques used to sustain vital bodily functions in individuals who are critically ill or injured.
Similar spelling words for LIFE SUPPORT
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