16 ORGANISM AND ENVIRONMENT 



The effects in man of undue deficiency or undue 

 excess of CO z can easily be observed. By forced 

 breathing we can greatly reduce the alveolar C0 2 

 percentage and also the quantity of C0 2 in the arte- 

 rial blood. The effects of continued forced breathing 

 are very marked. These are "swimming" of the head, 

 abnormal sensations of "pins and needles," loss of 

 sensibility, contractions of various groups of muscles, 

 and gradual loss of consciousness. By breathing dur- 

 ing rest air containing 6 per cent or more of C0 2 , or 

 a less percentage during exertion, we can observe the 

 effects of undue excess of C0 2 — headache, giddiness, 

 and often rapid loss of consciousness. Breathing is 

 so regulated as to avoid these and other ill effects of 

 excess or deficiency of C0 2 . In other words the main- 

 tenance of breathing is but one manifestation of the 

 co-ordinated bodily activities of which the outcome is 

 the maintenance of bodily activity and structure as a 

 whole. Breathing is a manifestation of life and there- 

 fore possesses its characteristic features. 



It is evident that the mechanistic school of physi- 

 ologists can point to the new facts with regard to the 

 regulation of breathing as a confirmation of their 

 principles. For the respiratory centre may be re- 

 garded as a mechanism which reacts in a very sensi- 

 tive manner to slight changes in the concentration of 

 C0 2 . There is thus no mystery about the regulation 

 of breathing — no need to invoke the presence of 

 factors which are not physical or chemical. The 

 respiratory centre is, in fact, typical of other bodily 

 mechanisms. The delicacy of their reaction is due 



