This project seeks to improve undergraduate studies of vertebrate physiology by adding automated equipment for monitoring respiratory function. The Jaeger Ergo-Oxyscreen System and Pneumoscope acquired through this grant will make it possible for Oberlin College's Biology faculty to develop new laboratory experiments in human respiration. (Experimental studies of the human body have proved to be particularly effective in stimulating learning). The new experiments enable undergraduate students to make detailed analyses of pulmonary function and energetics in the human body as functions of work load, body aerobic training, and environmental conditions, analyzing such parameters as respiratory air flow, respiratory oxygen, CO2 concentrations, and heart rate.
