Library · Physiology
Control of breathing
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Control of breathing is what makes you breathe without thinking about it. You can take over for a while, when singing for example, but normally it happens on its own.
That background rhythm starts in the respiratory centers of the medulla oblongata and the pons, two parts at the base of the brain. Information reaches them from the chemoreceptors, sensors that measure the chemistry of the blood: the central ones sit in the medulla and monitor carbon dioxide, the gas you exhale.
In a healthy person, that gas is what calls the shots: arterial PCO2, its pressure in the blood, is the main determinant of respiratory drive. Oxygen takes over only when it runs very low, in severe hypoxemia. It is a thermostat that mostly watches the smoke, not the fresh air.
In brief
Control of breathing is involuntary: you normally breathe without thinking about it, though you can sometimes take over, as when singing.
The background rhythm comes from the respiratory centers in the medulla and the pons, and the central chemoreceptors in the medulla monitor carbon dioxide.
In a healthy person, arterial PCO2 is the main determinant of respiratory drive; oxygen takes over only in severe hypoxemia.
It is a thermostat that mostly watches the smoke, not the fresh air.
Sources (2)
- OpenStax, Rice UniversityAnatomy and Physiology 2e, 22.3 The Process of Breathing
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Respiratory Drive, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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