During the first half of the twentieth century, several great innovations designed to treat respiratory failure were developed. The emerging fields of bioengineering and biomaterials developed devices to assist in medicine and therapy. One of the...

In animal physiology, respiration is the transport of oxygen from the ambient air to the tissue cells and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction. This is in contrast to the biochemical definition of respiration, which refers to...

An Italian judge rejected a paralyzed man's request to be removed from a respirator Saturday, ruling that the law does not permit the denial of lifesaving care and urging lawmakers to confront the issue.Piergiorgio Welby, whose body has been devastated by muscular dystrophy, had pleaded...

Italian prosecutors on Tuesday cleared a physician who disconnected the respirator of a paralyzed man who had sought to die, in a victory for supporters of the right-to-die campaign in the Roman Catholic nation, a patients advocate group said.In December, Dr. Mario Riccio assisted in...

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad underwent surgery to clean a wound infection following a recent bypass operation, a hospital statement said Sunday.Mahathir's son, Mukhriz, separately told The Associated Press that his father is on respirator but in a stable condition. "It's just a temporary...

An Italian medical board on Thursday cleared a physician who disconnected the respirator of a paralyzed man who had sought to die, in the latest development of a case that split Italy.Dr. Mario Riccio in December assisted in the death of Piergiorgio Welby, a 60-year-old...