Ventilatory response of goats to transient changes in CO2 and O2 during acute hypoxia

The authors assessed the relative sensitivity of the peripheral chemoreceptors of 4 goats to a transient decrease in inspired CO2 using a 2-breath test. This test provides a steady-state background of hypoxia and hypercapnia and then, for 2 breaths, an equally hypoxic gas mixture containing no CO2. Another type of 2-breath test, providing 2 breaths of a hyperoxic gas mixture against a background of hypoxia, was used to establish the time course of a response known to come from peripheral chemoreceptors. Seven human subjects were studied in a similar fashion to establish the validity of the procedure. Except for 2 responses, the author's human data agree with those reported previously by others. All 4 goats resembled man in responding to removal of hypoxia with a significant decrease in ventilation, but 3 of the 4 goats, unlike man, showed no significant decrease in ventilation when CO2 was removed. The authors conclude that the peripheral chemoreceptors of goats are commonly insensitive to transient changes in inspired CO2 during acute hypoxia.