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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Emergency Assessment (ABC)

Airway

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ˈerweɪ/nounCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, airway means: The passage that air travels through from the nose and mouth to the lungs; in emergencies, the question is whether it is open or blocked.

In Turkish: hava yolu, solunum yolu

How it is used

The 'A' in ABC. An airway can be clear, open, partly or fully blocked, or 'compromised'. You open, protect or manage an airway. In hospitals 'airway' also means a device that helps keep it open, such as an oral airway.

Example sentences

  1. Her airway is clear, she's talking to me in full sentences.

  2. Vomit was blocking his airway, so we turned him onto his side.

Common collocations

  • open the airway
  • clear airway
  • blocked airway
  • airway obstruction
  • manage the airway
  • ABCShort for airway, breathing, circulation: the order in which a rescuer checks for the most urgent problems in a sick or injured person.
  • chokingA blockage of the airway by food or a small object, so that the person cannot breathe, speak or cough properly.
  • agonal breathingIrregular gasping or snoring breaths that may occur in the first minutes after cardiac arrest; they are not normal breathing.
  • intubationPlacing a tube through the mouth or nose into the windpipe so that the airway is protected and a machine or bag can breathe for the patient.

More terms: Emergency Assessment (ABC)

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.