Artificial respiration in the dog by percutaneous, bilateral, phrenic nerve stimulation

Artificial respiration was produced in 11 anesthetized dogs using trains of short duration stimuli (1 msec with a frequency of 35/sec), applied to needle electrodes placed bilaterally at the base of the neck. The tips of the needles were in close proximity to the phrenic nerves. In all cases, the inspired volume increased with an increase in stimulus intensity. Typically, it required 5 to 10 volts (peak) to produce an inspired volume equal to spontaneous tidal volume. The maximum inspired volumes ranged from 1.27 to 4.31 times the tidal volume.