Aspiration

ASPIRATION (from Latin aspiratio - breathing, inhalation), a term used to denote the entry into the respiratory tract, during inhalation, of various foreign materials. Examples: Aspiration of various foreign bodies, observed most frequently in children; Aspiration of amniotic fluid and vaginal mucus, which may occur in a newborn during the act of birth in those cases when respiratory movements begin too early; Aspiration of food masses and oral mucus in patients with weakened swallowing reflex due to general weakness or with nervous system damage (for example, in bulbar paralysis); Aspiration of vomit in persons with impaired consciousness (e.g., during intoxication).-Aspiration of a significant amount of liquid or semi-liquid masses and large foreign bodies leads to rapid death due to suffocation (see Asphyxia); with a small amount of material that has entered the respiratory tract, an inflammatory process develops, which, depending on the depth of penetration of the material, affects either only the bronchi or also the lung tissue,-the so-called aspiration pneumonia (see Pneumonia).