Respiratory Therapy in Spanish

What a respiratory therapist does with a ventilator

MedlinePlus describes a ventilator as a computerized machine with knobs and buttons that are controlled by a respiratory therapist, nurse, or health care provider. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute adds that the respiratory therapist and doctor set the ventilator to control how often it pushes air into the lungs and how much air the person gets.

Related terms: oxygen therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation

Oxygen therapy is a treatment that provides extra oxygen to breathe in; it is also called supplemental oxygen. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a program for people who have chronic (ongoing) breathing problems, in which the patient works with a team of health care providers and learns techniques to improve breathing.

What it means

Respiratory therapy means exercises and treatments that help improve or restore lung function. A respiratory therapist is a health professional trained to evaluate and treat people who have breathing problems or other lung disorders. In a hospital, respiratory therapists are part of the health care team, together with providers and nurses, that closely watches a person who is on a ventilator, a machine that breathes for a person or helps them breathe. A respiratory therapist, nurse, or provider may also show a patient the best position for postural drainage, which helps drain fluid out of the lungs. MedlinePlus lists respiratory therapies among the treatments that may be used for cystic fibrosis.

Spanish term: Terapia respiratoria
Gender and article: feminine: la terapia respiratoria
Pronunciation: teh-RAH-pyah rehs-pee-rah-TOH-ryah

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
fisioterapia respiratoria	General	Given as another name for terapia respiratoria by the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary.
terapeuta respiratorio	General	The professional, not the therapy: the form MedlinePlus en español uses for respiratory therapist.
fisioterapeuta respiratorio	General	Headword the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary uses for respiratory therapist; it also lists técnico universitario en terapia respiratoria and terapeuta respiratorio.

Terapia respiratoria is the headword in the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary, which also gives fisioterapia respiratoria as another name. The noun is feminine, so adjectives agree with it: MedlinePlus en español writes terapias nutricionales y respiratorias. The professional is a separate word. MedlinePlus en español says terapeuta respiratorio, while the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary enters the same professional as fisioterapeuta respiratorio.

Two nearby terms have their own Spanish names. MedlinePlus en español uses both terapia con oxígeno and oxigenoterapia for oxygen therapy, a treatment that delivers extra oxygen, and rehabilitación pulmonar for the program in which a patient learns técnicas de respiración. The breathing machine also has two Spanish names in federal sources: MedlinePlus en español calls it a respirador, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute writes ventilador mecánico, también conocido como respirador.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Clinician	Good morning, I am your respiratory therapist. I am going to check your breathing.	Buenos días, soy su terapeuta respiratorio. Voy a revisar su respiración.
Patient	I get short of breath when I climb stairs.	Me falta el aire cuando subo escaleras.
Clinician	Breathe in slowly through your nose and breathe out through your mouth.	Inhale lentamente por la nariz y exhale por la boca.
Patient	Do I need a referral from my doctor for respiratory therapy?	¿Necesito una remisión de mi médico para la terapia respiratoria?
Clinician	I am going to show you the best position to help drain the mucus from your lungs.	Le voy a mostrar la mejor posición para ayudar a drenar el moco de los pulmones.
Patient	My father is on a ventilator. Who adjusts the machine?	Mi padre está conectado a un respirador. ¿Quién ajusta la máquina?
Patient	Is respiratory therapy the same as oxygen therapy?	¿La terapia respiratoria es lo mismo que la oxigenoterapia?
Clinician	If you suddenly have serious trouble breathing, that is an emergency: call 911.	Si de repente tiene mucha dificultad para respirar, es una emergencia: llame al 911.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Respiratory Therapy
Spanish (Español)	Terapia respiratoria
Chinese (中文)	呼吸治療
Korean (한국어)	호흡기 치료
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Liệu pháp hô hấp
Filipino (Tagalog)	Respiratory therapy
Portuguese (Português)	Terapia respiratória
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	การบำบัดทางเดินหายใจ
Japanese (日本語)	呼吸療法

Where you'll see it

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Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Lungs and breathing

All terms in this area: Lungs and breathing — Pulmones y respiración

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.