intubation

(in″too-bā′shŏn)

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(in″tŭ-bā′shŏn)
The insertion of a tube into a hollow organ. Intubation of the trachea provides an open airway and is an essential step in advanced life support. It also permits the instillation of certain critical care drugs (such as lidocaine, epinephrine, and atropine), which the lungs can absorb directly when other forms of internal access are unavailable. In the patient with no evidence of head or cervical spine trauma, using a head-tilt, chin-lift maneuver, which places the patient in a “sniffing” position, facilitates intubation of the trachea.
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OROTRACHEAL INTUBATION endotracheal tube with bag-mask ventilation
Intubation of other structures, such as the organs of the upper gastrointestinal tract, may permit enteral nutrition, the dilation of strictures, or the visualization of internal anatomy.

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