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The activity of lung irritant receptors during pneumothorax, hyperpnoea and pulmonary vascular congestion
Author(s) -
Sellick Hilary,
Widdicombe J. G.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.1969.sp008868
Subject(s) - pulmonary stretch receptors , bronchoconstriction , stretch receptor , reflex , receptor , lung , anesthesia , medicine , vagus nerve , cough reflex , ventilation (architecture) , pneumothorax , airway , stimulation , anatomy , mechanical engineering , engineering
1. The activity of lung irritant receptors during pneumothorax, hyperpnoea and pulmonary congestion has been studied by recording from single vagal nerve fibres from the receptors in rabbits. 2. The receptors were stimulated during induction and during removal of pneumothorax. 3. Pneumothorax caused a greater depression of minute volume in bilaterally vagotomized rabbits, compared with those with intact vagus nerves. 4. Hyperpnoea due to breathing through an added dead space increased the discharge of the receptors. Experiments on paralysed and artificially ventilated rabbits showed that this was not a direct action of the asphyxial changes in blood gas tensions. 5. Pulmonary congestion, induced by inflating a balloon in the left atrium, stimulated the receptors in paralysed artificially ventilated rabbits. 6. The evidence that the receptors cause vagal reflex hyperpnoea and bronchoconstriction is discussed, together with their role in the reflex ventilatory and bronchomotor changes in the conditions studied.