Both-type iron lung

Made:
1950-1955 in Blackfriars
maker:
D and J Fowler
Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington.  Gallery view, front Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington.  Gallery view, front Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington.  Gallery view, detail Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington.  Gallery view, detail Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington.  Gallery view, detail Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Head view 3/4. On Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Detail of the head. On Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Detail view, side Both-type iron lung, London, England, 1950-1955

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Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Gallery view, front
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Gallery view, front
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Gallery view, detail
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Gallery view, detail
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Gallery view, detail
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Head view 3/4. On
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Detail of the head. On
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung c. 1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington. Detail view, side
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Both-type iron lung, London, England, 1950-1955
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group Collections
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London

Both-type iron lung c.1950 presented by Viscount Nuffield to the Memorial Hospital Darlington (see also part records)

Have you ever run so hard that you’re gasping for air? Been knocked over and ‘winded’? Those few scary seconds when you just can’t catch your breath? Imagine having that sensation all the time. When breathing becomes this difficult, a machine has to do it for you.

With just your head outside the machine, the iron lung forces air in and out of your lungs. Who needed this kind of treatment? Anyone who had weakness or paralysis of their respiratory muscles, of which polio was a major cause in the 1940s and 1950s. The disease could pass almost unnoticed, but at other times the virus attacked nerves controlling the muscles of breathing.

How long would you need to spend inside the iron lung? It could be days, weeks or even years. You might recover to breathe for yourself, or the damage could be permanent. Some patients stayed in iron lungs for the rest of their lives, accompanied by the constant ‘ker-swish’ sound of the machine.

Was it a lifesaver or a terrifying confinement? Death could be avoided, but you might fear being trapped in a ‘coffin’, forced to adapt your breathing, talking and eating to the rhythm of the machine. Iron lungs were used less and less as vaccination reduced the incidence of polio. But we’ll always need machines to help us breathe in some circumstances, think of modern day intensive care and life support.

Details

Category:
Therapeutics
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A683097
Materials:
fittings, aluminium, fittings, iron (chrome plated), frame, iron, head rest, canvas, labels, brass, mattress, plastic, mattress, rubber, foam and trapdoors, wood
Measurements:
overall: 1610 mm x 2270 mm x 870 mm,
type:
iron lung
taxonomy:
  • furnishing and equipment
  • tools & equipment
credit:
Memorial Hospital Darlington