Abstract: A respiration catheter has a sealing cuff (12) which encircles the catheter tube (10) and can be connected through a separate tube (13, 14) with a source of compressed air with a substantially constant pressure. This tube accommodates a cut-off valve (19, 20, 21) which is controlled by the pressure of the respiration air and is adapted to prevent air in the sealing cuff from escaping when this pressure exceeds the pressure in the source of compressed air. The position of this cut-off valve in the vicinity of the free end of the catheter tube obviates the disadvantageous effects of pressure drops in the catheter tube, which may occur when the valve is placed at the injection end of the catheter tube, as is the case in a known respiration catheter.

Abstract: An air reservoir (4) intended for regulating the pressure in the sealing cuff of a respiration catheter has a wall consisting of an elastic membrane (3). The reservoir also functions as a pressure gauge, the elastic membrane when inflated being caused to contact a semitransparent plate (2) which is firmly connected with a rigid part (1) of the reservoir. At contact between the membrane and the plate, indicator rings on the membrane become visible through the semitransparent plate.

Abstract: The invention relates to a tracheal suction catheter comprising a flexible tube whose outermost portion has a side bend forming a knee on the tube, an aperture being provided in the tube wall adjacent the knee.The object of the invention is to provide a construction reducing as much as possible the risk of the catheter being clamped to the mucosa, and according to the invention this is achieved by the tube wall immediately around said aperture being sunk with respect to the cylindrical surface of the tube. Suction from the mucosa is thus spread over a greater area, and the aperture itself is spaced from the mucosa ensuring that the mucosa is not damaged, neither during insertion nor during suction.