This text provides a guide to the management of the intensive care patient afflicted by respiratory insufficiency, giving the reader knowledge of the pathophysiological basis for altered functions.

The close correlations between anatomo-functional data and clinical aspects are substantiated by the study and interpretation of the data of respiratory mechan- ics. This field has developed to such an extent that, today, it is hard to single out one researcher who is an expert of the whole sector, whereas super experts can be found among scholars who, thanks to their studies and continuous comparisons, have contributed to the widening of knowledge and the development of that part of research which correlates some basic disciplines with clinical medicine. This notion is of paramount...