life support

名词noun

1. 1An artificial system designed to provide oxygen and other conditions necessary for human life in an inhospitable environment.
2. 2(medicine) The maintenance of vital functions of a critically ill or comatose person or a person undergoing surgery.
3. 3(medicine) The equipment and special procedures used for life support.
4. 4figurativelyA means of sustaining existence or continuation of something, usually in an artificial manner when it should have changed or terminated in its natural environment.