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Clinical Research on Dyspnea
Author Bios
What is Dyspnea?
What Provokes Dyspnea?
The Nature of Dyspnea
Language of Dyspnea
Clinical Application
Research Application
Variability in Sensations
Challenges in Study
Mechanical Loads and Sense of Effort
Currently selected section: Chemoreceptors
Mechanoreceptors
Neuro-Mechanical Dissociation
Phase of Respiration and Dyspnea
Physiology of Dyspnea
Respiratory System
Cardiovascular System
Measuring Dyspnea
Scaling Issues
Qualitative Aspects
Reliability and Validity Overview
Reliability and Validity
Sensitivity and Specificity
Scales
Sensation vs. Perception vs. Symptom
Treating Dyspnea
Why Measure?
Cluster Analysis
Statistical vs. Clinical Significance
Standard Error of Measurement
Measuring Fatigue
Measuring Depression
Measuring Anxiety and Hyperventilation
Measuring Quality of Life
Conclusion

 

Chapter 23: Dyspnea: Physiology of Dyspnea: Chemoreceptors
        

The peripheral chemoreceptors are located in the carotid bodies on each carotid artery and in the aortic arch and respond to hypoxemia, hypercapnia, and acidemia. The central chemoreceptors, located in the medulla, respond to hypercapnia primarily through changes in pH. Stimulation of the chemoreceptors by changes in arterial blood gases leads to increases in ventilation. To the extent that an individual experiences dyspnea with such changes, is he or she responding to sensory information from the chemoreceptors or merely experiencing the effort of breathing more vigorously?

Question 10.1

Would an individual experience dyspnea with acute hypercapnia even if she were paralyzed and there were no motor activity (the individual is being passively ventilated with a mechanical ventilator)?


Selection: Yes          Selection: No    


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