A comparative study of the ventilatory responses of the golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus and the laboratory rat, Rattus norvegicus, under hypercapnic and/or hypoxic gas mixtures

Fossorial mammals are frequently exposed to hypercapnic and/or hypoxic conditions in their burrows. This research compares ventilatory responses of golden hamsters (<i>Mesocricetus auratus</i>) to different ambient respiratory gas concentrations with those of the white rat (<i>Rattus norvegicus</i>). Total body plethysmography was used to measure tidal volume (V_T), respiratory frequency (R_f), and minute volume (V_E). The respiratory gases had carbon dioxide concentrations ranging from 0 to 790 and oxygen content ranging from 13 to 21%. Both hypercapnic and hypoxic gas mixtures caused hyperventilation in hamsters. The more a gas mixture deviated from normal air, the greater the ventilatory increase. Combining hypercapnic and hypoxic conditions did not potentiate the response. Rats exhibited a greater hyperventilation in response to hypercapnic-hypoxic and hypercapnic gas mixtures than did the hamsters. Hypoxia alone caused a greater response in the hamsters. Greater blood buffering capacity of hamsters offers a possible explanation for the different ventilatory responses observed between these two rodents.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Zoology

Department dc:contributor.department

Zoology

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1983

Author dc:creator

• Holloway, Deborah Ann

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10919/118354

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118354