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An expert in pulmonary medicine shares a wide-ranging exploration of the human lung: the organ that explains our origins and holds the keys to our future.We take an average of 7.5 million breaths a year and some 600 million in our lifetime, and what goes on in our body each time oxygen is taken in and carbon dioxide expelled is nothing short of miraculous. “Our lungs are the lynchpin between our bodies and the outside world,” writes pulmonologist Michael Stephen. And yet, we too often take our lungs for granted.In Breath Taking, Stephen sheds much-needed light on our extraordinary lungs. He relates the history of oxygen on Earth and the evolutionary origins of breathing, and explores the healing power of breath and its spiritual potential. Stephen interweaves his narrative with scientific history, such as the development of the lung transplant, and poignant human stories, including his own frantic attempts to engage his son's lungs at birth.Despite great advances in science, our lungs are ever more threatened. Asthma is on the rise, increasing anxiety leaves us vulnerable to disease, and COVID-19 has revealed that vulnerability in historic ways. Breath Taking offers inspiration and hope, inspiration, and vital perspective to us all.

First published in 1997. The respiratory muscles are multifunctional muscles involved in other behaviors besides breathing -- from the protection of the upper airway to cognitive functions such as speech or singing. Neural Control of the Respiratory Muscles presents an overall consideration of how these muscles are regulated by the central nervous system in normal as well as in pathological situations.A group of 40 internationally recognized scientists and clinicians have collaborated to discuss current findings in the field and to identify areas of future development such aso The anatomical and functional organization of the respiratory muscles and the mechanics of the chest wallo Respiratory muscle control by the central nervous system during normal breathing and during disease stateso Respiration during sleep, exercise, and locomotiono Respiratory muscle contribution to non-respiratory behaviors; interaction of the central pattern generator for respiration with other central pattern generatorso Multifunctional nature of respiratory muscles and respiratory neurons of the central nervous systemAlthough other texts exist that examine the control of breathing and other specialized topics considered in this volume, Neural Control of the Respiratory Muscles is the first major single-volume publication that takes a broad view of muscle control during non-respiratory behaviors and the coordination of respiration with non-respiratory behaviors.

The book addresses functional changes associated with or resulting from pulmonary diseases. Population-based clinical, epidemiological, and multicenter investigations are presented to provide a comprehensive update on prevalent respiratory problems; the exemplars are respiratory tract infections, tobacco abuse, chronic obstructive lung diseases, or socio-economic influence on morbidity. Novel issues related to the function of the carotid body, an organ generating hypoxic hyperventilation also are tackled. Significant insights into a wide range of related conditions are provided. Chapters are relevant to the broad readership as they examine health care quality, effectiveness of therapeutic strategies, the patient quality of life, and other relevant health issues. The authors present late-breaking knowledge and aim at thought-stimulating viewpoints on timely clinical topics in respiratory medicine.

Respiration is one of the most basic motor activities crucial for survival of the individual. It is under total control of the central nervous system, which adjusts respiratory depth and frequency depending on the circumstances the individual finds itself. For this reason this volume not only reviews the basic control systems of respiration, located in the caudal brainstem, but also the higher brain regions, that change depth and frequency of respiration. Scientific knowledge of these systems is crucial for understanding the problems in the many patients suffering from respiratory failure. - This well-established international series examines major areas of basic and clinical research within neuroscience, as well as emerging subfields.

Respiration is one of the most basic motor activities crucial for survival of the individual. It is under total control of the central nervous system, which adjusts respiratory depth and frequency depending on the circumstances the individual finds itself. For this reason this volume not only reviews the basic control systems of respiration, located in the caudal brainstem, but also the higher brain regions, that change depth and frequency of respiration. Scientific knowledge of these systems is crucial for understanding the problems in the many patients suffering from respiratory failure. - This well-established international series examines major areas of basic and clinical research within neuroscience, as well as emerging subfields

This authoritative, research-based book, written by a team of clinical experts, offers an introduction to the symptoms and causes of disordered breathing as well as the strategies and protocols that can be used to correct and restore normal breathing. Multidisciplinary Approaches to Breathing Pattern Disorders guides readers through a discussion of the current research that links disordered breathing patterns with perceived pain levels, fatigue, stress and anxiety. Basic mechanics, physiology, and biochemistry of normal breathing are outlined to lay a foundation for understanding causes and mechanics of disordered breathing. Self-help strategies with charts and workbook pages that may be photocopied as handouts are designed to help patients overcome specific breathing problems.'...this second edition is particularly outstanding, providing a good basis of practical hands-on techniques, well supported by pictures and the website, and giving specific focus on sports, speech and chronic pain.'Reviewed by Janet Rowley on behalf of the New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, January 2015'..a fantastic resource which will help students, clinicians, and physiotherapists to carry out effective evaluation and treatment in an acute care setting.'Reviewed by Poonam Mehta on behalf of the New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, January 2015 - Written by an international team of highly experienced clinicians in the field - Addresses all the most effective aspects of therapy - physiotherapy, psychotherapy, osteopathy - Includes an introduction to the understanding of the mechanics, physiology and biochemistry of normal breathing - Includes self-help measures with charts and workbook material which may be photocopied for using with the patients - Video clips on an associated website presents practical examples of the breathing techniques discussed in the book - Includes the latest protocols on breathing rehabilitation - Includes specialist chapters on breathing dysfunction associated with pain syndromes such as pain of pelvic origin and other unexplained medical conditions - Discusses the use of capnography in assessment and rehabilitation - Includes discussion of Vojta/Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization Therapy

The control of breathing during exercise remains the source of considerable debate. Classical schemes of the exercise hyperpnea have incorporated elements of proportional feed-back from chemoreceptor sites (carotid body and brainstem) and feed-forward neurogenic (central command and muscle reflex) control. However, the precise details of the control process are still not fully resolved, reflecting in part technical and interpretational limitations inherent in isolating putative control mechanisms in the intact exercising human and also the challenges presented by the ventilatory and gas-exchange complexities encountered at work rates which engender a metabolic (lactic) acidosis. Although some combination of neurogenic, chemoreflex, and circulatory-coupled processes are likely to contribute to the control, intriguingly, the overall system appears to evidence considerable redundancy. This, coupled with the lack of appreciable steady-state error signals in the mean levels of arterial PCO2, PO2, and pH over a wide range of work rates, has motivated the formulation of innovative control models that reflect not only spatial interactions but also temporal interactions (i.e., short-term and longer-term ‘memory'). The challenge remains to discriminate between robust control schemes that (a) integrate such processes within plausible physiological equivalents, and (b) account for both the dynamic and steady-state system response over the entire range of exercise intensities. Table of Contents: Introduction / Ventilatory Requirements / Ventilatory Responses / Ventilatory Control / Conclusions / References

Respiration is an area of the medical study that undergoes fast developments. A better understanding of the neural and cellular mechanisms underlying respiratory disorders and lung function is essential for the evidence-based pharmacotherapy and for optimizing the patient care and prophylactic measures to improve the health and quality of life. This comprehensive book is a blend of basic and clinical research. The book is thought to promote the translation of science into clinical practice. The book presents an update on the areas of current research and clinical interest in the neurobiology of the respiratory system. Recent innovations in detection and management of respiratory diseases are described. The book will be a base of reference in the field of respiration for years to come and a source of future research ideas. This book is a required text for respiratory scientists, neuropathologists, and for clinicians searching for ‘bench to bedside'treatments of lung diseases.

This volume contains the papers presented at the symposion on Central Neurone Environment and the Control Systems of Breathing and Circulation held at Bochum, October 5-7,1981 in honour of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans H. Loeschcke, who retired in March 1981. His discovery of ventral medullary substrates forming an essential drive for the ventilatory as well as for circulatory control systems, and the elaboration of this concept during the last 25 years have profoundly influenced the concepts in this field. In an age of proceeding specializa­ tion on partial mechanisms, his approach has always emphasized the integrative aspects of the control systems, especially the role of the respiratory control system for the ionic homeostasis of the brain and the close interrelation between neuronal respiratory and cardiovascular control. This general intention implies the combination of physico­ chemical and neurophysiological approaches as well as the study of peripheral function of respiration and circulation, topics which are usually handled separately according to the different methods.

This book offers an updated review of the physiology of the carotid body chemoreceptors. It provides the trends in the field as it contains results in the topics that are at the frontiers of future developments in O2-sensing in chemoreceptor cells.

Hopefully, this book will be taken off of the shelf frequently to be studied carefully over many years. More than 40 researchers were involved in this project, which examines respiration, circulation, and metabolism from?sh to the land vertebrates, including human beings. A breathable and stable atmosphere?rst appeared about 500 million years ago. Oxygen levels are not stable in aquatic environments and exclusively water-breathing?sh must still cope with the ever-changing levels of O 2 and with large temperature changes. This is re?ected in their sophisticated count- current systems, with high O extraction and internal and external O receptors. 2 2 The conquest for the terrestrial environment took place in the late Devonian period (355–359 million years ago), and recent discoveries portray the gradual transitional evolution of land vertebrates. The oxygen-rich and relatively stable atmospheric conditionsimpliedthatoxygen-sensingmechanismswererelativelysimpleandl- gain compared with acid–base regulation. Recently, physiology has expanded into related?elds such as biochemistry, molecular biology, morphology and anatomy. In the light of the work in these?elds, the introduction of DNA-based cladograms, which can be used to evaluate the likelihood of land vertebrates and lung?sh as a sister group, could explain why their cardio-respiratory control systems are similar. The diffusing capacity of a duck lung is 40 times higher than that of a toad or lung?sh. Certainly, some animals have evolved to rich high-performance levels.

New findings in brain research are being revealed on an almost daily basis, and the focus of this book is the fields of breathing, neuroprotection, and higher brain functions. An unresolved issue within respiration research and hence a topic of much interest is Where and how respiratory rhythm is generated in the brainstem, detailed analysis of which is presented herein. Chapters on neuroprotection examine the functional significance of the blood – brain barrier as an interface of blood and the central nervous system; other chapters look at health and disease in relation to the hypothalamic and limbic systems. In addition to animal experiments, research on the human brain is included, with a focus on the recently developed EEG/dipole tracing method. This book will be an invaluable reference for researchers in neuroscience and related fields.

Exploring the functional anatomy and physiology of the ventilatory control system from the intracellular to the integrative level, this references serves as the first source to offer comprehensive coverage of the influences of various pharmacological agents on the control of breathing.

This useful reference provides comprehensive reviews of the physiological foundations of the control of breathing and offers new insights into the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of breathing disorders in respiratory, cardiac, neuromuscular, and metabolic-endocrine diseases.Control of Breathing in Health and Diseasesheds new light on the central neural mechanisms controlling breathing and the important chemical, neuromechanical, and behavioral systems that are responsible for setting the level and pattern of breathing investigates the neural basis of respiratory sensation and the mechanisms of breathlessness addresses the systems that are responsible for assuring the adequacy of ventilation during exercise considers the structural, mechanical, and neural mechanisms influencing upper airway patency reviews the physiological mechanisms of Cheyne-Stokes breathing charts the influence of gender, menstrual cycle, and pregnancy on ventilatory control presents current approaches to the clinical assessment of the control of breathing discusses breathing abnormalities in the newborn and infants and changes in breathing patterns in the elderly evaluates the mechanisms and management of sleep-disordered breathing analyzes abnormalities in breathing control in chronic obstructive and interstitial lung diseases, heart failure, neurological diseases, muscular dystrophy, and thyroid disorders, diabetes, and acromegaly outlines modern approaches to the management of respiratory failure and more!Including more than 2200 references, tables, equations, and drawings, Control of Breathing in Health and Disease benefits pulmonologists; physiologists; chest, pulmonary, thoracic, and cardiovascular physicians and surgeons; asthmologists; cardiologists; respiratory therapists; and upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and medical school students in these disciplines.

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.