Mechanical ventilation is a life-saving procedure that has been used for decades to treat patients with respiratory failure. In recent years there have been major advances in our understanding of how to ventilate patients, when to initiate and discontinue ventilation, and importantly, the side effects of mechanical ventilation. This book represents a state-of-the-art review by the leading experts in this field and covers a number of important topics including epidemiology, underlying physiological concepts, and approaches to monitoring. The pros and cons of various modes of ventilation are reviewed, as are novel forms of ventilation that may play a role in the future management of patients with respiratory failure. The importance of patient-ventilator synchrony and ventilator-induced lung injury are reviewed, with a focus on recent clinical trials and the challenges of implementing the results into clinical practice.