The body is a complex machine. Many organs and systems constantly work to keep it healthy. Some functions are so crucial that you can't live if they stop. When they fail, special medical procedures, commonly called life support , can keep you alive until your body is ready to take over again. But sometimes the body isn't able to resume the work.

If these systems stop working for any reason, you need life support:

Types of Life Support

When most people talk about a person being on life support, they're usually talking about a ventilator, which is a machine that helps someone breathe. A ventilator (or respirator) keeps oxygen flowing throughout the body by pushing air into the lungs. It's used temporarily for conditions like pneumonia, but it may be needed longer for someone with lung failure.

One end of a tube goes into the windpipe through the nose or mouth. The other end attaches to the electric pump. Some people get medicine to make them more comfortable and sleepy while on a breathing machine.

When a person's heart stops, doctors will try to restart it. These life support methods include CPR, which keeps blood and oxygen flowing throughout the body, electric shocks (called defibrillation) to get the heart beating again, and medication to help the heart work.

Less urgent forms of life support include dialysis to filter toxins from the blood, and a feeding tube or an IV to give nutrition and water.