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From: toms@ncifcrf.gov (Tom Schneider)
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.bio
Subject: Re: Breathing liquid?
Message-ID: <1443@fcs280s.ncifcrf.gov>
Date: 21 Dec 89 00:49:27 GMT
References: <CMM.0.88.630065705.bfu@goll.uio.no> <178@53iss6.Waterloo.NCR.COM>
Reply-To: toms@fcs260c2.UUCP (Tom Schneider)
Organization: National Cancer Institute, Frederick
Lines: 28

In article <178@53iss6.Waterloo.NCR.COM> howard@53iss6.Waterloo.NCR.COM
(Howard Steel) writes:
>In article <CMM.0.88.630065705.bfu@goll.uio.no> Thomas Gramstad <bfu> writes:
>
>>Is it at all possible for a human being to breathe and obtain oxygen from a
>liquid?
>
>Well, rats have been fitted with a water tight membrane across their mouths
>that allowed for transfer of gas but not liquid; the rodent subjects were able
>to quite easily breathe under-water for  over an hour
...
> These tests were conducted in fish tanks,
>so obviously the question arises about the effect pressure would have, and
>how does a larger organism (ie man) with its increased requirements for oxygen
>make out. Don't know.
>/ Howard.Steel@Waterloo.NCR.COM 	    NCR CANADA LTD. - 580 Weber St. N /
>/   (519)884-1710 Ext 570 	     	          Waterloo, Ont., N2J 4G5     /

Could you find a reference for this?  If the rate of accumulation of oxygen
is not high enough, then perhaps a small motor could be used to pass the
liquid by the membrane.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to scuba dive
without any tanks for indefinite periods of time?

  Tom Schneider
  National Cancer Institute
  Laboratory of Mathematical Biology
  Frederick, Maryland  21701-1013
  toms@ncifcrf.gov