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Inequality of Inspired and Expired Gaseous Nitrogen in Man

Nature volume 232, pages 265–268 (1971)Cite this article

Abstract

IN studies of animal respiration, it is conventional to assume that the amounts of nitrogen inspired and expired are equal, and this assumption has passed from one textbook to another1–12. The argument is that there is no known metabolic reaction of the human body involving molecular nitrogen, and that in ordinary circumstances nitrogen is merely a diluent of the oxygen in the air breathed13. Three recent studies14–16 cast doubt on this assumption and have prompted us to use a direct system to detect changes in the amounts of inspired and expired nitrogen gas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Environmental Research Unit, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, 61801

    L. T. DUDKA, H. J. INGLIS, R. E. JOHNSON, J. M. PECHINSKI & SHARON PLOWMAN

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  1. L. T. DUDKA
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  2. H. J. INGLIS
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  3. R. E. JOHNSON
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  4. J. M. PECHINSKI
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DUDKA, L., INGLIS, H., JOHNSON, R. et al. Inequality of Inspired and Expired Gaseous Nitrogen in Man. Nature 232, 265–268 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/232265b0

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