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The Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 533-538 (2002)
© 2002 The Company of Biologists Limited

Mechanics of the respiratory system in the newborn tammar wallaby

P. M. MacFarlane1, P. B. Frappell1,* and J. P. Mortola2

1 Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia and
2 Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1Y6

*Author for correspondence (e-mail: p.frappell{at}latrobe.edu.au)

Accepted 3 December 2001

We investigated whether the mechanical properties of the respiratory system represent a major constraint to spontaneous breathing in the newborn tammar wallaby Macropus eugenii, which is born after a very short gestation (approximately 28 days, birth mass approximately 380 mg). The rate of oxygen consumption (O2) through the skin was approximately 33 % of the total O2 at day 1 and approximately 14 % at day 6. The mass-specific resting minute ventilation (E) and the ventilatory equivalent (E/O2) were approximately the same at the two ages, with a breathing pattern significantly deeper and slower at day 1. The mass-specific compliance of the respiratory system (Crs) did not differ significantly between the two age groups and was close to the values predicted from measurements in eutherian newborns. Mass-specific respiratory system resistance (Rrs) at day 1 was higher than at day 6, and also higher than in eutherian newborns. Chest distortion, quantified as the degree of abdominal motion during spontaneous breathing compared with that required to inflate the lungs passively, at day 1 was very large, whereas it was modest at day 6. We conclude that, in the tammar wallaby at birth, the high resistance of the respiratory system and the distortion of the chest wall greatly reduce the mechanical efficiency of breathing. At this age, gas exchange through the skin is therefore an important complement to pulmonary ventilation.

Key words: chest wall, development, skin, gas exchange, neonatal respiration, newborn marsupial, tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii.


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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2002