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The Breathless Heart pp 11–33Cite as

Mechanics and Chemistry of Respiration in Health

A Synopsis of the Regulation of Breathing

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Abstract

In this chapter, a basic review of the structure and function of the human respiratory system is provided, with particular attention to its key regulatory components. The chapter offers a detailed description of the different pathways involved in the control of ventilation under physiological conditions and outlines how ventilation is modulated by neural and chemical cues, focusing on the interplay between central and peripheral chemoreceptors.

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Abbreviations

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

CCHS:

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome

CNS:

Central nervous system

CP :

Transpulmonary compliance

CT :

Thoracic compliance

CTP :

Thoracopulmonary compliance

DPG:

Diphosphoglycerate

DRG:

Dorsal respiratory group

E1:

First phase of expiration

E2:

Second phase of expiration

early-I:

Early inspiratory

Eaug:

Expiratory augmenting

ERV:

Expiratory reserve volume

FEV1:

Forced expiratory volume in 1 s

FRC:

Functional residual capacity

GABA:

Gamma-amino butyric acid

GPR4:

G-protein coupled receptor 4

HbA:

Haemoglobin A

HCVR:

Hypercapnic ventilatory response

HVR:

Hypoxic ventilatory response

Iaug:

Inspiratory augmenting

IRV:

Inspiratory reserve volume

J receptor:

Juxtacapillary receptors

late-I:

Late inspiratory

NBCe:

Electrogenic sodium/bicarbonate cotransporters

NO:

Nitric oxide

nNOS:

Neural nitric oxide synthase

NTS:

Nucleus tractus solitarii

Pao :

Alveolar pressure

PBS :

Pressure at body surface

PL :

Transpulmonary pressure

Ppl :

Intrapleural pressure

PCs:

Peripheral chemoreceptors

PTT :

Transthoracic pressure

post-I:

Post-inspiratory

pre-I:

Pre-inspiratory

PRG:

Pontine respiratory group

R:

Relaxed

RARs:

Rapidly adapting receptors

RTN:

Retrotrapezoid nucleus

RV:

Residual volume

SIDS:

Sudden infant death syndrome

T:

Tense

TASK:

TWIK-related acid-sensitive K+ channel

TEA:

Tetraethylammonium

VC:

Vital capacity

VT :

Tidal volume

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy

    Claudio Passino, Elisabetta Cacace, Daniele Caratozzolo, Federico Rossari & Luigi Francesco Saccaro

  2. Division of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy

    Claudio Passino

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  1. Claudio Passino
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  2. Elisabetta Cacace
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  3. Daniele Caratozzolo
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  4. Federico Rossari
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  5. Luigi Francesco Saccaro
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Correspondence to Claudio Passino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy

    Michele Emdin

  2. Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy

    Alberto Giannoni

  3. Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy

    Claudio Passino

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Passino, C., Cacace, E., Caratozzolo, D., Rossari, F., Saccaro, L.F. (2017). Mechanics and Chemistry of Respiration in Health. In: Emdin, M., Giannoni, A., Passino, C. (eds) The Breathless Heart. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26354-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26354-0_2

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