Respiratory factors in the uptake and excretion of anesthetics. 1965

We have considered some of the ways in which respiration can affect the gas exchange process. The simplest relationships are purely physical and relate to the speed with which the lung and tissues can be filled or emptied. More complex relationships involve a consideration of the interplay between blood and gas in the lung and the effects of gas exchange on respiratory volumes themselves. Finally, some examples of the importance of physiologic alteration produced by, and producing respiratory shifts during, gas uptake processes were presented briefly. The detailed interpretation of gas exchange phenomena demands more quantitative information of this sort, concerning not only the respiratory but the circulatory and tissue level variations affecting uptake during anesthesia. Nevertheless, understanding of the principles and application of such data as are available can go far toward removing the handicaps of empirical practice from the day-to-day administration of anesthetic agents to human beings.