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Methods in the Assessment of the Control of Breathing

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Methods in Clinical Pharmacology—Respiratory System

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Abstract

The chemical control of breathing involves both central and peripheral chemoreceptors (Figure 1) and their interaction has been much studied. Hypoxia stimulates breathing peripherally via the carotid body, whereas its central effect is depressive. Both central and peripheral chemoreceptors are stimulated by increased CO2 tension (\( {{\text{P}}_{C{O_2}}} \) ) or hydrogen ion concentration [H+] in arterial blood and brain extracellular fluid (ECF) respectively. The exact contribution and interaction of the two receptor sites is disputed, the main difficulty being that the actual chemoreceptor cells in the brainstem are as yet unidentified, so that their precise chemical milieu, let alone their control, is hard to define.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Pulmonary Function Laboratories, Department of Medicine, Middlesex Hospital, Mortimer Street, London, W1, UK

    K. B. Saunders

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  1. K. B. Saunders
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J. B. L. Howell A. E. Tattersfield

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© 1981 Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Saunders, K.B. (1981). Methods in the Assessment of the Control of Breathing. In: Howell, J.B.L., Tattersfield, A.E. (eds) Methods in Clinical Pharmacology—Respiratory System. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05940-9_7

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