Abstract
Experimental studies of the influence of roentgen irradiation upon the respiratory function are hardly found except Nemenov's (1) inspite of numerous clinical reports about roentgen therapy in the bronchial asthma. Nemenov reported the increase of the amplitude and the frequency of the respiration by radon-irradiation on the medulla oblongata of the decerebrated cat.We attempted to examine the respiratory movement of rabbits especially concerning the wavy periodical respiration (W. P. R.) in the systematic studies of the functional influence of roentgen irradiation on living body.The so-called wavy periodical respiration means a pattern of respiration with undulatory change of the respiration level and in the typical case the amplitude of the undulation exceeds the tidal movement of the respiration. Such respiratory movement was found by Ogata and Yamaguchi (2) for the first time on rabbits and human bodies, which were thought to have received the strong pressure due to an explosion. On the other hand Fukuda and Kato (3) reported a similar respiration, which was observed on rabbits under urethane anesthesia only for a short duration. Tasaka (4) (5) (6) found that some medicines which affect the respiratory center, and the photosensitizing dyes in cyanin series can also cause this type of respiration. Thereafter, it was also found that some natural environmental conditions, especially coldness can cause on rabbits such respiratory pattern.Thus these facts suggest that in the appearence of W. P. R. some higher center may be concerned.
