Abstract
The carotid and aortic chemoreceptors He within the carotid and aortic bodies. These bodies are of considerable complexity and have been the subject of many studies over the last 50 years. They are concerned with monitoring the gaseous constituents of the arterial blood and have reflex effects, notably on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Over the years, there have been a number of reviews concerned with their function and structure, the most recent being those of Biscoe (1971) and Howe and Neil (1971). There are many earlier reviews, and among the most important are the Wates Symposium edited by Torrance (1968) and an article by Comroe (1964). An account of the pioneer work on function by Heymans is given in his reviews with Bouckaert (Heymans et al., 1933; Heymans and Bouckaert, 1939), subsequently expanded in his book with Neil (Heymans and Neil, 1958). Heymans was awarded the Nobel prize in 1938 for his work on these peripheral receptors and their reflex effects. Much of the past research has been about these reflex effects and their elucidation; this discussion is concerned not with that aspect of function but with the problem of the nature of the receptor lying within these carotid and aortic bodies. The carotid bodies have been the subject of most of the research on this problem simply because they are much more readily accessible than their aortic counterparts.
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Biscoe, T.J. (1974). Arterial Chemoreceptors. In: Hubbard, J.I. (eds) The Peripheral Nervous System. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8699-9_18
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