title: The story of oxygen.
abstract: The history of oxygen from discovery to clinical application for patients with chronic lung disease represents a long and storied journey. Within a relatively short period, early investigators not only discovered oxygen but also recognized its importance to life and its role in respiration. The application of oxygen to chronic lung disease, however, took several centuries. In the modern era, physiologists pursued the chemical nature of oxygen and its physiologic interaction with cellular metabolism and gas transport. It took brazen clinicians, however, to pursue oxygen as a therapeutic resource for patients with chronic lung disease because of the concern in the 20th century of the risks of oxygen toxicity. Application of ambulatory oxygen devices allowed landmark investigations of the long-term effects of continuous oxygen that established its safety and efficacy. Although now well established for hypoxic patients, many questions remain regarding the benefits of oxygen for varying severity and types of chronic lung disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Providence Portland Medical Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon 97213, USA. john_heffner@mac.com
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Heffner
mesh_terms: D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000266:history* / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000266:history*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy; D011788:Quality of Life
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen