Resuscitation Great. The contributions of Lavoisier, Scheele and Priestley to the early understanding of respiratory physiology in the Eighteenth Century.

The mid Eighteenth Century was a time of great scientific experimentation and observation during which some of the basic aspects of respiratory physiology and metabolism began to be elucidated. This was the time when the fundamental elements of earth, air, fire and water proposed by Aristotle began to be reappraised. The Phlogiston theory was finally exploded and a basic understanding of elements, respiratory gases and metabolism began to emerge. It was also a time of radical social movements with political and religious unrest and revolution taking place. This scientific and social upheaval can be seen in the lives of three great chemists of that era: Scheele, Lavoisier and Priestley, all of whom added significantly to the pieces of the physiological jigsaw puzzle that was being put together at this time.