Question

Chemosensitive areas in the respiratory center activated by

Answer 1

The respiratory center is located bilaterally in the medulla and pons. Three major centers contribute to respiratory regulation. The dorsal respiratory center is mainly responsible for inspiration, the ventral respiratory center is responsible for both expiration and inspiration, and the pneumotaxic center helps control the breathing rate and pattern. The dorsal respiratory center is the most important. It is located within the nucleus solitarius where vagal and glossopharyngeal nerve fibers terminate and carry signals from peripheral chemoreceptors and baroreceptors (including the carotid and aortic bodies) and several lung receptors. A chemosensitive area also exists in the brainstem just beneath the ventral respiratory center. This area responds to changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pH, sending corresponding signals to the respiratory centers. Anesthetics cause repression of the respiratory centers of the brainstem.