Dead space and tidal volume of the giraffe compared with some other mammals.
The ventilation, tidal volume and anatomical dead-space were measured in a living giraffe and compared with similar measurements in a camel, red deer, llama and man. The giraffe had a resting tidal volume of about 3.3 litres with a dead-space/tidal-volume ratio of 0.34. The giraffe breathes slowly, apparently because of the unusually small diameter of its trachea relative to its length, compared with known measurement in other mammals.
D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo / Q000502:physiology*; D001188:Artiodactyla / Q000502:physiology*; D002161:Camelids, New World; D002162:Camelus; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D003670:Deer; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology*; D012119:Respiration; D012126:Respiratory Dead Space; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013990:Tidal Volume; D014132:Trachea / Q000033:anatomy & histology
D002245:Carbon Dioxide