Book excerpt: **Selected for Doody's Core Titles® 2024 in Respiratory Therapy** Ensure you understand one of the most sophisticated areas of respiratory care with Pilbeam's Mechanical Ventilation: Physiological and Clinical Applications, 8th Edition! Known for its simple explanations and in-depth coverage of patient-ventilator management, this evidence-based text walks you through the most fundamental and advanced concepts surrounding mechanical ventilation and helps you understand how to properly apply these principles to patient care. This new edition is an excellent reference for all critical care practitioners and features coverage of the physiological effects of mechanical ventilation on different cross-sections of the population. Additionally, user-friendly features promote critical thinking and clinical application, such as key points, AARC clinical practice guidelines, critical care concepts, and updated learning objectives. - UNIQUE! Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia chapter presents in-depth, comprehensive coverage on this very challenging issue. - Critical Care Concepts present short questions that challenge you to apply knowledge learned to difficult concepts. - Brief patient case studies list pertinent assessment data and pose a critical thinking question to test your content comprehension. - Key Points draw attention to pivotal concepts and highlight important information as topics are addressed. - Intended for classroom or small group discussions, Clinical Scenarios offer a more comprehensive patient scenario that covers patient presentation, assessment data, and treatment options. - Logical sequencing of chapters builds on previously learned concepts. - Comprehensive Learning Objectives provide a clear, concise listing of what you need to learn in the chapter. - Bulleted end-of-chapter summaries help assess comprehension and guide study efforts. - Excerpts of Clinical Practice Guidelines developed by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) are presented in a convenient, reader-friendly format. - Chapter outlines provide a "big picture" of the chapter content. - NBRC-style end-of-chapter review questions reinforce the very difficult concept of mechanical ventilation with practice that focuses on certification exam success. - Glossary of mechanical ventilation terminology provides definitions for highlighted key terms in each chapter. - UPDATED! Revised content throughout reflects the latest standards of respiratory care.