Drinker respirator [Philip Drinker, American engineer, 1894–1972] , (Obsolete) an airtight respirator that consisted of a metal tank that enclosed the entire body except the head. Used for long-term therapy, it alternated positive and negative air pressure within the tank, providing artificial respiration by contracting and expanding the walls of the chest. It was widely used in the treatment of polio. Also called artificial lung, iron lung.
