Photograph of Nurses Being Instructed on the Use of Respirator for a Polio Patient

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Description

The photograph shows nurses being trained on the use of a respirator, or an “iron lung,” for a polio patient.

First invented in 1927 by Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw and refined by John Emerson in 1931, the respirator helped polio patients breathe if their chest muscles became paralyzed during the illness.

Citation

This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of Labor.

National Archives Identifier: 1633453

Full Citation: 174-G-30-1; Photograph of Nurses Being Instructed on the Use of Respirator for a Polio Patient; 5/23/1958; Photographic Prints of Occupations, Labor Activities, and Personalities, 1940–1970; General Records of the Department of Labor, Record Group 174; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/photograph-of-nurses-being-instructed-on-the-use-of-respirator-for-a-polio-patient/, April 6, 2026]

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