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The portable suction unit of an ambulance

In medicine, devices are sometimes necessary to create suction. Suction may be used to clear the airway of blood, saliva, vomit, or other secretions so that a patient may breathe. Suctioning can prevent pulmonary aspiration, which can lead to lung infections. In pulmonary toilet, suction is used to remove fluids from the airways,^[1] to facilitate breathing and prevent growth of microorganisms.

In surgery suction can be used to remove blood from the area being operated on to allow surgeons to view and work on the area. Suction may also be used to remove blood that has built up within the skull after an intracranial hemorrhage.^[2]

Suction devices may be mechanical hand pumps or battery or electrically operated mechanisms. The yankauer suction tip is one type of tip attached to a suction unit.

[edit] References

^ Allen GS, Coates NE (November 1996). "Pulmonary contusion: A collective review". The American Surgeon 62 (11): 895–900. PMID 8895709.
^ Valadka AB (2004). "Injury to the cranium". in Moore EJ, Feliciano DV, Mattox KL. Trauma. New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division. pp. 385–406. ISBN 0-07-137069-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=VgizxQg-8QQC&pg=PA545&dq=tracheobronchial&client=firefox-a&sig=ATbisz-qr_r2zxfALuU6LnKYdYI#PPA544,M1. Retrieved 2008-08-15.

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[Allen96-0] Allen GS, Coates NE (November 1996). "Pulmonary contusion: A collective review". The American Surgeon 62 (11): 895–900. PMID 8895709.

[Valadka04-1] Valadka AB (2004). "Injury to the cranium". in Moore EJ, Feliciano DV, Mattox KL. Trauma. New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division. pp. 385–406. ISBN 0-07-137069-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=VgizxQg-8QQC&pg=PA545&dq=tracheobronchial&client=firefox-a&sig=ATbisz-qr_r2zxfALuU6LnKYdYI#PPA544,M1. Retrieved 2008-08-15.

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