Main Entry: Heim·lich maneuver

Pronunciation: \ˌhīm-lik-\

Function: noun

: the manual application of sudden upward pressure on the upper abdomen of a choking victim to force a foreign object from the trachea

[Heimlich maneuver illustration]

Heimlich, Henry Jay (born 1920), American surgeon. Heimlich wrote a number of medical works for the layman, on such topics as surgery of the stomach, duodenum, and diaphragm and on postoperative care for thoracic surgery. He devised an operation for the replacement of the esophagus and developed the Heimlich maneuver, publishing a monograph on it in 1976.