[Technical difficulties raised by the suppression of ventilatory responses from peripheral chemoreceptors in the rat]

In normal pentobarbitalized Wistar rats, simultaneous section of Hering nerves and resection of superior cervical sympathetic chain, suppress chemosensibility, in 50% cases: ventilatory responses to cyanide and to hypoxia are completely suppressed by the surgical denervation. Vagotomy completes loss of chemosensibility in a few animals, indicating the presence of intrathoracic chemoreceptors of minor importance. Local anaesthesia with lidocaïne of extra craniobasal unidentified structures, is as effective as surgical chemodenervation for suppressing ventilatory responses. This technic is not suitable for experimental purposes in long duration assays.