Ventilatory response of SCUBA divers to CO₂ inhalations

¹ Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, California

A study was made to compare the minute ventilatory response of SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) divers and nondivers to CO₂ inhalations under ambient conditions at rest and during light exercise. Furthermore, other respiratory parameters and lung function measurements were made for comparison with published reports of apneustic divers. The SCUBA diver and the nondiver in this study were similar with respect to basal ventilation, divisions of the lung volume, and spirographic functions. There was some tendency for the SCUBA divers to have a slightly diminished ventilatory response to CO₂ inhalations during rest compared to the nondivers, but this was not a clear-cut phenomena. Furthermore, the ventilatory response to CO₂ bore no relation to time spent in diving. The respiratory adaptations which have been described in the literature for the apneustic diver under ambient conditions were not present in the SCUBA diver.

Note:
(With the Technical Assistance of Christa McReynolds, Mabel Pearson and Roy Engstrom)