1. Plural of pulmotor; mechanical devices that inflate and deflate the lungs to restore breathing in a person who has stopped breathing, especially from electric shock or gas poisoning.
Usage: Primarily historical; largely replaced by modern resuscitation equipment such as bag-valve-mask devices and mechanical ventilators.; Often capitalized as a trademark in early 20th-century usage.

Examples

• The fire department kept pulmotors on hand for emergency resuscitation.
• Early pulmotors were manually operated and required training to use effectively.
• Before modern ventilators, pulmotors were essential equipment in hospitals and rescue stations.
• The lifeguard was trained to operate the pulmotor in case of near-drowning incidents.
• Pulmotors represented an important advance in emergency medical technology during the early 1900s.