Caption
Masks photographed on October 10th, 1922. René Legendre’s and Maurice Nicloux’s mask was shaped like a cone, resembling those used in anesthesia. Its purpose was to assure pulmonary ventilation by using pure oxygen. Its base allowed the mask to rest fully flat, so that if he was laid down correctly, the suffocating patient’s face could simply be affixed to the mask in order to adhere to it. The mask was a durable piece of equipment composed of two large openings with circular thin rubber valves working in opposing directions. A metallic nozzle allowed for continuous breathing by connecting to a compressed oxygen cylinder with a rubber tube. Inside the tube, a rubber balloon valve acted as a regulator. The balloon valve adjusted the gas flow, inflating when the patient exhaled and partially deflating upon inhalation.
