| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Department of Physiology, University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia (Hrvatska)
2 Department of Medicine, Clinical Hospital Split, Split, Croatia (Hrvatska)
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: zdujic{at}bsb.mefst.hr.
The purpose of this study was (i) to answer whether the reduction in the spleen size in breath-hold apnea is an active contraction or a passive collapse secondary to reduced splenic arterial blood flow and (ii) to monitor the spleen response to repeated breath-hold apneas. Ten trained apnea divers, 10 intact and 7 splenectomized untrained persons repeated five maximal apneas (A1-A5) with face immersion in cold water, with two minutes interposed between successive attempts. Ultrasonic monitoring of the spleen and noninvasive cardiopulmonary measurements were performed before, between apneas and at times 0, 10, 20, 40, and 60 minutes after the last apnea. Blood flows in splenic artery and splenic vein were not significantly affected by breath-hold apnea. The duration of apneas peaked after A3 (143, 127, and 74 seconds in apnea divers, intact and splenectomized persons, respectively). A rapid decrease in spleen volume (about 20% in both apnea divers and intact persons) was mainly completed throughout the first apnea. The spleen did not recover in size between apneas and only partly recovered 60 minutes after A5. The well-known physiological responses to apnea diving: bradycardia and increased blood pressure were observed in A1 and remained unchanged throughout the following apneas. These results show rapid, probably active contraction of the spleen in response to breath-hold apnea in humans. Rapid spleen contraction and its slow recovery may contribute to prolongation of successive, briefly repeated apnea attempts.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. P. A. Andersson, M. H. Liner, and H. Jonsson Increased serum levels of the brain damage marker S100B after apnea in trained breath-hold divers: a study including respiratory and cardiovascular observations J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2009; 107(3): 809 - 815. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Lindholm and C. E. Lundgren The physiology and pathophysiology of human breath-hold diving J Appl Physiol, January 1, 2009; 106(1): 284 - 292. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Fahlman The pressure to understand the mechanism of lung compression and its effect on lung function J Appl Physiol, April 1, 2008; 104(4): 907 - 908. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Palada, D. Eterovic, A. Obad, D. Bakovic, Z. Valic, V. Ivancev, M. Lojpur, J. K. Shoemaker, and Z. Dujic Spleen and cardiovascular function during short apneas in divers J Appl Physiol, December 1, 2007; 103(6): 1958 - 1963. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. C. W. Hsia, R. L. Johnson Jr., D. M. Dane, E. Y. Wu, A. S. Estrera, H. E. Wagner, and P. D. Wagner The canine spleen in oxygen transport: gas exchange and hemodynamic responses to splenectomy J Appl Physiol, November 1, 2007; 103(5): 1496 - 1505. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Ivancev, I. Palada, Z. Valic, A. Obad, D. Bakovic, N. M. Dietz, M. J. Joyner, and Z. Dujic Cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia is unimpaired in breath-hold divers J. Physiol., July 15, 2007; 582(2): 723 - 730. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Bakovic, D. Eterovic, Z. Valic, Z. Saratlija-Novakovic, I. Palada, A. Obad, and Z. Dujic Increased pulmonary vascular resistance and reduced stroke volume in association with CO2 retention and inferior vena cava dilatation J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2006; 101(3): 866 - 872. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Milton GO AHEAD, VENT YOUR SPLEEN! J. Exp. Biol., February 1, 2004; 207(3): 390 - 390. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |
