Jet ventilation can be performed via either high or low frequency means.

High frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) is accomplished with specialized

ventilators capable of producing the high pressure, low volume breaths
necessary. Low frequency jet ventilation (LFJV), however, is usually
accomplished with a manually triggered hand-held device. HFJV is
primarily utilized in an ICU setting while low frequency jet ventilation (LFJV)
is primarily utilized during short procedures (rigid bronchoscopy), airway
surgery or after a cricothyrotomy. During jet ventilation the tidal volumes
utilized are smaller than the total dead space (anatomical + equipment),
therefore gas exchange must occur via alternative means in addition to the
standard bulk flow (convective) ventilation that occurs during a normal
inspiratory-expiratory cycle where gas is delivered directly to the alveoli
(this is the case in HFJV more so than LFJV).
these other means of gas exchange include Laminar flow, the Pedulluft
effect, Taylor dispersion and cardiogenic mixing.
Laminar flow (non-turbulent, low Reynolds number) in small airways
produces a scenario where the high-pressure of the delivered breath flows
down the middle of the airway and the margins of the airway contain gas
moving in the opposite direction.
The Pedulluft effect describes the movement of inspired gas from those
alveoli that fill the fastest to those that are slower to fill. This is based on
the fact that there is variability between alveoli in both resistance and
compliance.
Taylor dispersion (convective streaming) is the diffusion of the high
velocity central gases to the margins of the airway. This phenomenon
primarily occurs in the smaller airways and further enhances gas mixing
and hence exchange.
Cardiogenic mixing also contributes to gas exchange during jet ventilation,
albeit likely to a lesser extent than those mentioned previously. It occurs as
a result of the rhythmic, pulsatile nature of the heart conferring a mixing of
gases.