EFFECT OF LOWERED OXYGEN TENSION OF INSPIRED AIR ON THE RESPIRATORY RESPONSE OF NORMAL SUBJECTS TO CARBON DIOXIDE

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Abstract
The respiratory response to 2% CO2 mixed with 21% and 12% O2 was measured in 18 [male] college students. The average resting respiratory volume (corrected to 0[image], 760 mm.) in 10 expts. on each of the 18 subjects was 6.89 liters per min. Inhalation of 17% O2 alone caused no significant change in avg. respiratory volume, while 12% O2 caused an avg. increment of 10.6%. Inhalation of 2% CO2 mixed with 21% O2 increased the respiratory vol. 28% on the avg., a figure that did not differ significantly from the 33% increase found when the subjects breathed 2% CO2 mixed with 17% O2. Inhalation of 2% CO2 mixed with 12% oxygen resulted in an increase of 38.9% in the avg. respiratory vol. which was significantly greater than the increase caused by inhalation of 2% CO2 in 21% O2. The avg. respiratory increment observed from the adm. of a CO2-O2 mixture could be estimated by the simple addition of the avg. effect of the 2 gases administered separately. Marked individual differences in respiratory response were found, which make predictions of the respiratory response of an individual subject to any of the gas mixtures used, impossible.

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