The Pope was rushed back to hospital today, and has undergone a tracheotomy.

The hospital and the Vatican aren’t saying much, except that the pontiff had a fever and breathing problems.

Tracheostomy (sometimes called tracheotomy) is the creation of an opening directly into the trachea (windpipe) in the neck for the purpose of assisting breathing. While tracheotomy used to be done as an emergency, it is now done more on an elective basis to protect the airway, better clean the airway and to provide more oxygen to the lungs.