Abstract
Summary
Infant rats can tolerate a low oxygen concentration (3.87%) at high altitudes (40,000 feet) longer than adults of the same species. This tolerance decreases with age and is probably associated with the lower cerebral metabolism of infant brain. 2 The diminution of metabolic rate of adult rats by thyroidectomy increases the resistance of these animals to high altitudes. 3 The importance of the factor of aeroembolism in this differential survival has not been determined.
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