Panting

This article covers the physiological process of panting. For more meanings see under panting (disambiguation) .

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Panting dog

Panting is rapid breathing with a greatly increased breathing rate with chest breathing .

description

With hackle breathing, a larger proportion of the air per breath is not used for gas exchange in the lungs, compared to normal breathing , but the same amount of air is moved up and down the airways more frequently in the shortened breaths . This increases the physiological dead space both in the upper airways and in the lungs. The tidal volume per breath is reduced, but the higher breathing rate hardly changes the total volume of air inhaled and exhaled .

Effect on thermoregulation

As the air passes the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and the tongue more frequently, more moisture evaporates. Through the transition of liquid water into the gaseous state of aggregation , heat is extracted from the environment and given off into the air. The resulting evaporation cold lowers the temperature of the mucous membranes and the adjacent tissues. The blood in the capillaries is cooled, which also lowers the blood temperature in the blood vessels leading to the brain . For many mammals , for example dogs , panting is an important part of thermoregulation and a substitute for sweating , which is only possible to a limited extent in them due to the small number of sweat glands . In dogs, when the temperature rises, more fluid is released from the turbinate for evaporation. Panting has the physiological advantage that, unlike sweating, no electrolytes are released. Dogs suffering from brachycephalic syndrome pant with a noticeably increased frequency .

Breathing technique for labor

Intentional panting is a breathing technique with chest breathing used by women giving birth following the instructions of the midwife , which is supposed to facilitate the labor process in certain phases of the birth.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ America Physiological Society: Mechanisms for the control of respiratory evaporative heat loss in panting animals
2. ↑ CM Blatt, CR Taylor, MB Habal: Thermal panting in dogs: the lateral nasal gland, a source of water for evaporative cooling. In: Science. Volume 177, Number 4051, September 1972, pp. 804-805, PMID 5052734 .
3. ↑ Veterian Key: The Respiratory System
4. ↑ Heike Höfler: Consciously experiencing pregnancy - gymnastics for body and soul