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