inhalation
Meaning of inhalation: Inhalation is the physical act of drawing air or another substance into the lungs, the route used for gases, aerosols, and certain inhaled medications.
Definition of inhalation
Inhalation is the act of drawing air, or another substance carried within air, into the lungs through the nose or mouth. It is the mechanism by which the body takes in oxygen and is also a route by which certain substances, including medications, gases, and airborne particles, enter the body.
During inhalation, the diaphragm and muscles of the chest wall contract, expanding the chest cavity and drawing air down through the airway into the lungs, where oxygen crosses into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide is released to be exhaled. Inhalation works together with exhalation as the two phases of a single breathing cycle.
Because substances taken in by inhalation reach the lungs directly and can pass quickly into the bloodstream, inhalation is used as a deliberate route of drug delivery for certain respiratory medications, and it is also the route by which airborne irritants, allergens, and infectious particles can enter the respiratory tract.
Used in a sentence
The medication was delivered by inhalation directly to the airways.
Good to know
Inhalation can refer to the ordinary physical act of breathing in or to a deliberate route of drug delivery, and context generally distinguishes whether the term describes normal respiration or how a medication is being given.
Word origin
Where “inhalation” comes from
Formed from Latin inhalare, meaning to breathe into, from in-, meaning into, and halare, meaning to breathe.