TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Control of Ventilation A1 - Suyderhoud, Johan P. A2 - Freeman, Brian S. A2 - Berger, Jeffrey S. PY - 2014 T2 - Anesthesiology Core Review: Part One Basic Exam AB - The anatomic location of the neural elements involved in the control of breathing and ventilation reside primarily in medullary and pontine structures of the brainstem. In the medulla, two groups exist: a dorsal respiratory group lying in close proximity to the nucleus tractus solitarius and the fourth ventricle, and a ventral respiratory group located in the ventral medullary reticular formation, each richly cross-innervated. The dorsal respiratory group is involved mainly with timing and initiation of the respiratory cycle and can be thought of as the pacemaker for breathing, while the ventral group modulates the function of breathing, such as modulating and inhibiting pacemaker signaling to allow for cessation of inspiratory effort and eventual exhalation, controlling the force of contraction of inspiratory muscles, and dilator functions of the larynx and pharynx. Of note, generation of the medullary drive requires no afferent input from other parts of the body, be it lungs or otherwise. In the pons, neural activity can be thought of as processing medullary afferents involved in both inspiratory and expiratory activities. The pneumotaxic respiratory center of the rostral pons is not, as was earlier thought, involved with respiratory rhythmicity but with limiting inspiratory lung volumes, or apneusis (cessation of ventilation effort at TLC). SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/20 UR - accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1102569230 ER -