THE INVOLVEMENT OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE TOXICITY OF OXYGEN AT HIGH PRESSURE

Abstract

Mice were adapted to living in an environment containing high concentrations of carbon dioxide by exposing them to an atmosphere in which the concentration of this gas was increased each day by 2% to a maximum of 10% or 20%. The animals were then exposed to an atmosphere of 100% oxygen at 75 p.s.i. (gauge). The time of onset of convulsions under these conditions was significantly greater than that in untreated mice. This result in conjunction with the findings of others was interpreted to mean that animals exposed to oxygen at high pressure suffer some degree of impairment to carbon dioxide transport which contributes to the production of symptoms.