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Positive pressure is a pressure within a system that is greater than the environment that surrounds that system. Consequently, if there is any leak from the positively pressured system it will egress into the surrounding environment. This is in contrast to a
negative pressure room Negative room pressure is an isolation technique used in hospitals and medical centers to prevent cross-contamination from room to room.
, where air is sucked in. Use is also made of positive pressure to ensure there is no ingress of the environment into a supposed closed system. A typical example of the use of positive pressure is the location of a habitat in an area where there may exist flammable gases such as found on an
oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
or laboratory
cleanroom A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...
. This kind of positive pressure is also used in
operating theater An operating theater (also known as an operating room (OR), operating suite, or operation suite) is a facility within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out in an aseptic environment. Historically, the term "operating theater" refe ...
s and ''in vitro'' fertilisation (IVF) labs. Hospitals may have positive pressure rooms for patients with compromised
immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...
s. Air will flow out of the room instead of in, so that any airborne microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) that may infect the patient are kept away. This process is important in human and chick development. Positive pressure, created by the closure of anterior and posterior neuropores of the
neural tube In the developing chordate (including vertebrates), the neural tube is the embryonic precursor to the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord. The neural groove gradually deepens as the neural fold become elevated, ...
during
neurulation Neurulation refers to the folding process in vertebrate embryos, which includes the transformation of the neural plate into the neural tube. The embryo at this stage is termed the neurula. The process begins when the notochord induces the form ...
, is a requirement of
brain A brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as Visual perception, vision. I ...
development.
Amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...
s use this process to respire, whereby they use positive pressure to inflate their
lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of ...
s.


Historic utility


Industrial utility

Industrial use of positive pressure systems are commonly used to ventilate confined space with dust, fumes, pollutants and/or high temperatures


Clinical utility

Many hospitals are equipped with negative and positive pressure rooms just for the purposes described. Negative pressure rooms are used to help keep airborne pathogens (eg. aerosolized
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
and active TB) from escaping into surrounding areas, thereby preventing the spread of airborne pathogens to outside the room. Positive pressure rooms are used for immunocompromised persons (eg.
Neutropenic Neutropenia is an abnormally low concentration of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) in the blood. Neutrophils make up the majority of circulating white blood cells and serve as the primary defense against infections by destroying bacteri ...
) whereby controlled quality air is sent into the room to prevent random (an potentially polluted) air entering the room.


See also

* Filtered air positive pressure * Negative pressure (disambiguation) * Negative room pressure * Overpressure (CBRN protection) *
Plenum chamber A plenum chamber is a pressurised housing containing a fluid (typically air) at positive pressure. One of its functions is to equalise pressure for more even distribution, compensating for irregular supply or demand. It is typically relatively l ...
*
Positive pressure enclosure __NOTOC__ A positive pressure enclosure, also known as a welding habitat or hot work habitat, is a chamber used to provide a safe work environment for performing hot work in the presence of explosive gases or vapors. They are used most often ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Positive Pressure Classical mechanics Gas technologies Pressure sv:Övertryck (lufttryck)