Effects in dogs of hyperventilation and hypothermia on body oxygen stores.

Six anaesthetized, paralyzed, hypothermic (30° C) dogs were hyperventilated for 2 hours. During the final 30 minutes, die inspired mixture was altered from oxygen to air. The rates at which alveolar and arterial oxygen concentrations approached their new steady state values were represented by the half-times (t£) of 0.19 and 0.26 minutes, respectively. The turnover rate in venous blood oxygen content proceeded at a considerably slower rate, t^=0.90 minutes. The close agreement of results during hypothermia with results obtained during normothermia indicates that hypothermia per se has no significant effect upon oxygen turnover rate.