Hering-Breuer reflex

The Hering-Breuer reflex or lung expansion reflex is the reflex limitation of inspiration when the expansion of the lungs exceeds a certain level. The lung expansion afferents run in the vagus nerve . Overstretching is by reflex inhibition of the inspiratory neurons of the respiratory center alveoli (alveoli) and prevents the work of breathing ergonomically designed (by introducing an expiration). The Hering-Breuer reflex does not serve to maintain rhythmic spontaneous breathing, it helps to adapt the breathing depth to the respective conditions.

The Hering-Breuer reflex is of current clinical importance in the treatment of sleep apnea syndrome . This is often treated with positive pressure therapy (most commonly nCPAP) to keep the collapsing pharynx open. This leads to increased pressures in the lungs, which in some patients trigger the Hering-Breuer reflex and lead to reflex inhibition of the respiratory center (central apnea ).

The Hering-Breuer reflex was named after its discoverers, the Austrian internist Josef Breuer and the German physiologist Ewald Hering .

see also: Formatio reticularis

literature

Breuer, J. The self-regulation of breathing by the vagus nerve. In: Meeting reports of the Academy of Sciences Vienna, math.-naturw. Kl. 58/2 (1868), pp. 909-937.