The size of the trachea in warm-blooded animals, and its relationship to the weight, the surface area, the blood volume, and the size of the aorta

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing papers of a biological character Containing papers of a biological character, 1912-12, Vol.86 (584), p.56-65
• Main Authors: Dreyer, Georges, Ray, William, Walker, E. W. Ainley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Aorta; Arithmetic mean; Blood volume; Body weight; Homeotherms; Mammals; Percentages; Surface areas; Trachea
• ISSN: 0950-1193; 2053-9185
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.1912.0092

The analysis of data collected in connection with the investigation of a number of problems in immunity has led to a series of results, in part already published, bearing upon the blood and circulation. The conclusion was reached that in certain cases a precise and definite relationship to the body surface exists in warm-blooded animals in accordance with the formula Wn/a = k, where W is the body weight of the animal, a represents the mass of the body fluid, tissue, or organ under investigation, k is a constant, and the value of n is approximately 0·70-0·72. In view of the fact that the carriage of oxygen is one of the chief functions of the circulation, and that the volume of the blood (1), (2), and the aortic area (3), (4), (area of cross-section of aorta), have been shown by us to be proportional to the body surface in warm-blooded animals, while, as we have also found, the total oxygen capacity is the main factor in determining the size of the heart (5), it appeared to be of interest to examine the size of the channel by which the oxygen gains access to the lungs.