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A Ar

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Blood-gas properties and function in the fossorial mole rat under normal and hypoxic-hypercapnic atmospheric conditions.

Blood and tissue gas exchange properties of mole rats in normoxic and hypoxic-hypercapnic conditions were compared to the common mammalian pattern. RBC count was 14.0 +/- 1.2-10(6)/microliter. Hb concentration was 15.0 +/- 0.4g/100 ml. P50 (at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C) was 29.5 +/- 0.5 mm Hg. Oxygen capacity averaged 20.2 +/- 0.4 vol% and the Hill coefficient was 2.9 +/- 0.1. The Bohr effect was -0.53 +/- 0.02 (deltalog P/deltapH). The temperature coefficient was 0.0152 +/- 0.0014 (deltalog P/delta degrees C). The Haldane effect was 4.8 +/- 0.5 (deltaCCO2 vol%)at PCO2 =40 mm Hg. Steady-state partial pressures in gas pockets were PO2 = 15.1 +/- 1.4 mm Hg and PCO2 = 85.8 +/- 3.9 mm Hg in normoxia, and 11.5 +/- 3.0 and 101.8 +/- 3.5 repectively in hypoxia-hypercapnia (PIO2 congruent to 85 mm Hg). Under the same conditions 2,3-DPG dropped from 0.87 and 0.88 to 0.62 and 0.65 (mol/mol Hb) in the rat and in the white rat, respectively. Heart muscle myoglobin concentration of the mole rat (1.44 mg/g) did not differ significantly from that of the white rat (1.96 mg/g), whereas masseter myoglobin was 4.0 mg/g--significantly different from the rat (1.21 mg/g). Results indicate that the strategy used by the mole rat to maintain a normal metabolic rate under variable atmospheric conditions, besides having high oxygen affinity, is to expand the physiological range of the oxygen dissociation curve to very low oxygen tensions, at the expense of its acid-base regulation. The regulation of the shape of the oxygen dissociation curve is discussed.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

Is there a significant gas exchange through the skin of the shrew Crocidura russula monacha?

Because of its small body mass, the shrew Crocidura russula monacha has a relatively high surface area to volume ratio, thin skin, and high thermal conductance compared with larger mammals. This study was aimed at examining the possibility that such a mammal may exhibit a significant skin gas exchange. Gas composition was measured in subcutaneous gas pockets. CO2 and O2 exchange through skin were measured both in vitro and in vivo. In 7-wk-old gas pockets, the steady-state PO2 and PCO2 values were 50 Torr (where 1 Torr = 133.322 Pa) and 35 Torr, respectively, compared with PO2 and Pco2 values of 73 Torr and 33 Torr, respectively, in 1-wk-old gas pockets. These changes are attributed to an increased capillary density and a decreased skin thickness after 7 wk. There was no significant gas exchange through skin during in vitro measurements. In vivo measurements indicated that O2 uptake was 0.5% and CO2 loss was 0.9% of total body metabolism at 20 degrees C. At 35 degrees C, skin O2 uptake and CO2 loss increased to 1.3% and 2.9%, respectively. These values are only part of the expected skin metabolism; thus, the rest must come from blood. Because gas exchange through the skin of this shrew is within the range of other mammals, the relatively low PCO2 and high PO2 in the gas pockets is better explained by the relative hyperventilation state exhibited by this shrew.

Animals↗