Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

Employing the Forced Oscillation Technique for the Assessment of Respiratory Mechanics in Adults
Published on: February 9, 2022
The physiological legacy of the Fenn, Rahn, and Otis school
1Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0623, USA. jwest@ucsd.edu
Abstract:
Extraordinary advances in respiratory physiology occurred between 1941 and 1956 in the Department of Physiology, University of Rochester. These were principally the result of a collaboration between Wallace Fenn, Hermann Rahn, and Arthur Otis. Remarkably, all three scientists had worked in very dissimilar areas of physiology before and, by their own admission, were largely ignorant of respiratory physiology. However, because of the exigencies of war they were brought together to study the physiology of pressure breathing. The result was that they laid much of the foundations of pulmonary gas exchange and pulmonary mechanics and some of their work is still cited today. In pulmonary gas exchange they exploited the new oxygen-carbon dioxide diagram; clarified the effects of changes of altitude, hyperventilation, and pressure breathing; and pioneered the analysis of ventilation-perfusion relationships. In respiratory mechanics, they carried out groundbreaking work on the pressure-volume behavior of the lung and chest wall and went on to analyze aspects of gas flow and work of breathing. This explosion of ideas from what initially appeared to be a poorly prepared group has lessons for us today.
More Related Videos
05:44The c-FOS Protein Immunohistological Detection: A Useful Tool As a Marker of Central Pathways Involved in Specific Physiological Responses In Vivo and Ex Vivo
Published on: April 25, 2016
10:42A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation
Published on: August 18, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Functionalism
James envisioned psychology's role as...
The Scientific Method
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway
The olfactory...
Law of Effect
Edward Thorndike's foundational work involved studying learning in animals, particularly using puzzle boxes...
Robbers Cave
Behaviorism
The core premise of behaviorism is its focus on observable behavior rather than internal thoughts or feelings. This approach argues that true scientific...