The ins and outs of breath holding: simple demonstrations of complex respiratory physiology

The physiology of breath holding is complex, and voluntary breath-hold duration is affected by many factors, including practice, psychology, respiratory chemoreflexes, and lung stretch. In this activity, we outline a number of simple laboratory activities or classroom demonstrations that illustrate the complexity of the integrative physiology behind breath-hold duration. These activities require minimal equipment and are easily adapted to small-group demonstrations or a larger-group inquiry format where students can design a protocol and collect and analyze data from their classmates. Specifically, breath-hold duration is measured during a number of maneuvers, including after end expiration, end inspiration, voluntary prior hyperventilation, and inspired hyperoxia. Further activities illustrate the potential contribution of chemoreflexes through rebreathing and repeated rebreathing after a maximum breath hold. The outcome measures resulting from each intervention are easily visualized and plotted and can comprise a comprehensive data set to illustrate and discuss complex and integrated cardiorespiratory physiology.

Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - September 1, 2015 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Skow, R. J., Day, T. A., Fuller, J. E., Bruce, C. D., Steinback, C. D. Tags: SOURCEBOOK OF LABORATORY ACTIVITES IN PHYSIOLOGY Source Type: research