Spleen Contraction During 20 min Normobaric Hypoxia and 2 min Apnea in Humans

Abstract

Both normobaric hypoxia and apnea induced spleen contraction, but despite similar levels of SaO2 apnea evoked a significantly stronger response, possibly due to hypercapnia, faster desaturation, or the apneic stimulus in itself. Spleen contraction may facilitate adaptation to altitude and to apneic diving by elevating blood gas storage capacity.