Aspirator

aspirator

a device employing suction, such as a jet pump or one for removing fluids from a body cavity

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aspirator [′as·pə‚rād·ər]

(engineering)

Any instrument or apparatus that utilizes a vacuum to draw up gases or granular materials.

(mining engineering)

A device made of wire gauze, of cloth, or of a fibrous mass held between pieces of meshed material and used to cover the mouth and nose to keep dusts from entering the lungs.

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aspirator

A device which draws a stream of liquid or air through it by means of suction which is produced by the flow of a fluid through an orifice.

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Aspirator 

(1) In medicine, an apparatus for suctioning various fluids out of wounds and open and enclosed body cavities and also for removing by suction certain kinds of soft tumors (such as brain tumors) or fertilized ovum as for abortion, and similar uses. Aspirators operate primarily on the principle of electrovacuum pumps. Some aspirators can not only suction liquids off but also drive fluids in (such as the aspirator produced by the firm Giusto, used for suctioning fluids, pulverization, and anesthesia). Various surgical instruments such as tongue depressors, retractors, and puncturing needles are combined with aspirators.

(2) In engineering, a mechanical device for taking a sample of air or gas for the purpose of analyzing its composition and dust level. The samples of gas are obtained by drawing the gas under investigation into a container. A vacuum is created in the container by pumping out of the container water or some other liquid in which the gas chosen for sampling is insoluble. To analyze dust levels, the air under investigation is drawn by an ejector or a vacuum or pneumatic pump through a filter attached to the dust receiver; at the same time, the volume of the air passing through the filter is measured. The dust content is expressed in mg per cu m. Aspirators are used in mining and in the metallurgical industry to analyze the atmosphere in the mines, blast-furnace and coke gas, and so forth.

A. A. PARKHOMENKO