Introduction 



This Handbook has been prepared for the purpose of making readily available in a single, comprehensive 

 compilation useful data on respiration and associated phenomena. To this end, information has been organized for 

 ready reference in the form of tables, graphs, nomograms, schematic diagrcims, and line charts. Contents of the 

 volume have been made available and authenticated by some 400 leading investigators in the fields of biology and 

 medicine. The extended review process to which all tables have been subjected was designed to eliminate, insofar 

 as possible, both errors and such strongly controversial or questionable material as tends naturally to inhere in a 

 work of this scope and complexity. 



Frequently, a group of tables is preceded by an explanatory headnote designed to serve as an introduction 

 to the subject matter, or to account for inconsistencies and inclusion of controversial material. Usually, individual 

 tables are supplied with a short headnote containing such essential information as definitions; units, methods, and 

 conditions of measurement; conversion factors; abbreviations; and estimate of the range of variation. Following 

 each presentation there appears a list of contributors of the material, together with bibliographic references. In the 

 latter, abbreviations conform wherever possible to the LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS FOR SERIAL PUBLICATIONS, 

 Fourth Series, Army Medical Library, Washington, D. C. (U. S. Government Printing Office, 1948), and the 1955 

 SUPPLEMENT thereto. 



Technical and mechanical problems in the preparation of copy made impossible the use of standard symbols 

 and abbreviations in respiratory physiology as recommended in FEDERATION PROCEEDINGS 9:602, 1950; the same 

 limitations precluded the use of italics. The symbols d and J indicate, in terms of optical rotation, respectively 

 dextro- and levorotatory; d and i. are used for dextro and levo in the configurational sense for amino acids and 

 carbohydrates or for the stereoisomeric forms of an orgamic substance. 



The number of subjects and observations has been given whenever such information was available, provided 

 only that space permitted. There may on occasion appear between two tables differences in values for the same 

 specifications, and there may be found certain inconsistencies in nomenclature and occasional overlapping of cover- 

 age. These represent not oversights, nor failure to choose between alternatives; on the contrary, they result from 

 the deliberate intention of the research staff to respect the judgment and preferences of individual contributors. On 

 the other hand, with only the rarest of exception, each presentation is itself internally consistent. 



Values are generally presented as a mean and the upper and lower limit of the 95% range. 

 tions (a, b, c, d) identify types of ranges: 



Letter designa- 



(a) By the method of greatest accuracy, the 95% range is 

 obtained by fitting a recognized type of frequency curve to a 

 group of measured values and excluding the extreme 2.5% of 

 area under the curve at each end (see sketch). Estimate is 

 made by this procedure only when the group of values is rela- 

 tively large. 



(b) By a less accurate method, the 95% range is estimated by 

 a simple statistical calculation, assuming a normal distribu- 

 tion and using the standard deviation. This estimate is used 

 when the group of values is too small for curve fitting, as is 

 usually the case. 



(c) A third and still less accurate procedure for estimate of 

 the 95% range is simply to take as range limits the highest 

 value and lowest value of the reported sample group of meas- 

 urements. It underestimates the 95% range for small samples 

 (3 or 4 values) and overestimates for larger sample sizes, but 

 may be used in preference to the preceding method when the 

 sample shows convincing evidence that the variable is asym- 

 metrical in distribution. 



(d) The upper and lower limits of the range of variation, as commonly encountered by an investigator experienced 

 in measuring the quantity in question, constitute still another estimate of the 95% range. The trustworthiness of 

 limits so placed should not be underestimated. 



Although the data in each table are the best available at the time the table was prepared, it is recognized 

 that all data are subject to revision as investigators improve techniques and make more measurements. The reader 

 is invited to submit any values or ranges that he feels should be given consideration, and is particularly invited to 

 add to the coverage of animal forms. 



