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Excess Carbon Dioxide in the Blood in Cats   Hypercapnia in Cats
Hypercapnia is synonymous with hypoventilation, or inadequate
inhalation of fresh air. It is generally the result of alveolar
hypoventilation, a failure of the air cells in the lungs to take
in adequate amounts of clean oxygen. It may also be related to
lung disease or to environmental conditions that result in
increased levels of carbon dioxide in the breathable air.
Hypercapnia is characterized by an increase in the partial
pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood. Carbon dioxide
is a normal part of the atmosphere, and a normal component of
the chemical make-up of the mammalian body. Carbon dioxide is
the end product of aerobic cellular metabolism (the function of
cells that require oxygen to operate). It is considered the
primary drive to breath, by stimulation of central
chemoreceptors in the medulla oblongata (the lower portion of
the brainstem). It is carried in t