CompressorThe compressor is the main unit. It pumps a steady stream of air out through the tubing.
Power switchThe power switch turns the compressor on and off.
Air filterThe air filter cleans the air that the compressor draws in. It sits under a small cap and can be changed.
Air outletThe air outlet is the connector where the air leaves the compressor. One end of the tubing pushes onto it.
TubingCarries air from the compressor to the bottom of the medication cup. It is also called the air tube.
Power cordThe power cord brings electricity from the wall outlet to the compressor.
MaskFits over the nose and mouth in place of a mouthpiece. It is also called an aerosol mask.
Taken apart 5
MouthpieceThe mouthpiece is the part the lips close round. It pushes into the top of the cap.
CapThe cap closes the medication cup. The mouthpiece or the mask pushes into its top. One maker calls it the inhalation top.
BaffleA small loose piece that sits inside the cup, over the nozzle.
Medication cupThe medication cup holds the liquid medicine. Air comes in through the stem at its bottom. It is also called the medicine cup or nebulizer cup.
NozzleThe nozzle stands in the middle of the medication cup. The air from the tubing comes up through it, and the baffle sits over it.
How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. Four unrelated makers' manuals on the Internet Archive: (1) Omron, https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-8fcd9df9-6edb-4c5c-bd23-5aab62e135dd (compressor or main unit, power switch, air filter and air filter cover, air tube, nebulizer kit: cap, inhalation top, baffle, medication cup with its nozzle, air tube connector, mouthpiece, child mask). (2) DeVilbiss, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6167111 (compressor, power switch, filter cap, air-outlet connector, tubing, medication cup, baffle, nebulizer cap, mouthpiece, T-piece, aerosol mask, power cord). (3) Citizen, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6463401 (compressor, power switch, air outlet, air filter, flexible tubing, mouth piece, masks, medication chamber and its nozzle). (4) Graham-Field, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6295738 (air outlet connector, on/off switch, filter cap, power cord, tubing, nebulizer cup, masks). (5) MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, How to use a nebulizer, https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000006.htm (air compressor, hose, medicine cup, mouthpiece, facemask, filter). (6) US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, How to Use a Nebulizer fact sheet page, https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/how-use-nebulizer-fact-sheet (a machine that delivers a mist of medicine through a mouthpiece or mask). (7) Wikipedia, Nebulizer, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebulizer (jet nebulizers and compressed air, mouthpiece, face mask). The sources were read for names only. Makers and agencies are named here only; the page names none. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; own work, no maker's model copied. Licence: own work
How it works
These are the parts of a nebulizer of the compressor kind, a machine that turns liquid medicine to mist. First the whole set, then the nebulizer taken apart. Names only: use comes from a clinician.
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Follow the air
The compressor draws air in through the air filter and pumps it out at the air outlet. The tubing carries the air to the bottom of the medication cup, where it comes up through the nozzle under the baffle. The cap closes the cup. A mouthpiece or a mask goes on top. The power switch and the power cord are on the compressor.
Medication cup, medicine cup and nebulizer cup are three names for the same part.
The word nebulizer is used both for the whole set and for the small cup assembly.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a nebulizer called?
The compressor, with its power switch, air filter and air outlet; the tubing; and the nebulizer itself, which is a medication cup with a nozzle, a baffle and a cap. A mouthpiece or a mask goes on top.
What is the cup on a nebulizer called?
The medication cup, medicine cup or nebulizer cup. It holds the liquid medicine, and the tubing pushes onto the stem at its bottom.
What is the baffle in a nebulizer?
A small loose piece inside the medication cup. It sits over the nozzle, under the cap.
What is the machine part of a nebulizer called?
The compressor, or main unit. It pumps air through the tubing to the medication cup.