Regulation of Ventilation and Gas Exchange

Regulation of Ventilation and Gas Exchange is a comprehensive account of the regulation of ventilation and gas exchange. Topics covered include central nervous system regulation of ventilation; ventilatory response to muscular exercise; respiratory control in air-breathing ectotherms; and breathing during sleep. Hydrogen ion homeostasis of the cerebral extracellular fluid is also discussed, along with specific mechanisms for O2 and CO transport in the lung and placenta. Comprised of nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of the neural elements that modify and/or are intrinsic to the respiratory rhythm. The next two chapters deal with the contribution of metabolic factors in the control of ventilation, paying particular attention to the importance of metabolic factors during muscular exercise and the specific role of ammonia in the regulation of respiration. A view of ventilatory control from a comparative standpoint, stressing both adaptive and mechanistic phenomena, is then presented. Subsequent chapters explore the regulation of breathing during sleep; regulation of cerebral extracellular fluid acid-base composition and its role in the control of ventilation and cerebral blood flow; carrier-mediated transport of respiratory gases; and measurement of ventilation-perfusion ratios is presented. The last chapter considers lung surfactant mechanics and addresses issues such as in vitro vs in situ measurements of surface tension and the effects of surface tension on pulmonary vascular resistance and interstitial pressure. This monograph is designed not only for respiratory physiologists but also for students and researchers in other areas with an inclination toward respiratory physiology.