The comparative physiology of seemingly disparate organisms often serves as a surprising pathway to biological enlightenment. How appropriate, then, that Robert Elsner sheds new light on the remarkable physiology of diving seals through comparison with members of our own species on quests toward enlightenment: meditating yogis. As Elsner reveals, survival in extreme conditions such as those faced by seals is often not about running for cover or coming up for air, but rather about working within the confines of an environment and suppressing normal bodily function. Animals in this withdrawn state display reduced resting metabolic rates and are temporarily less dependent upon customary levels of oxygen. For diving seals—creatures especially well-adapted to prolonged submergence in the ocean’s cold depths—such periods of rest lengthen dive endurance. But while human divers share modest, brief adjustments of suppressed metabolism with diving seals, it is the practiced response achieved during deep meditation that is characterized by metabolic rates well below normal levels, sometimes even approaching those of non-exercising diving seals. And the comparison does not end here: hibernating animals, infants during birth, near-drowning victims, and clams at low tide all also display similarly reduced metabolisms. By investigating these states—and the regulatory functions that help maintain them—across a range of species, Elsner offers suggestive insight into the linked biology of survival and well-being.

Diving Seals and Meditating Yogis: Strategic Metabolic Retreats

Science & Math

Elsner, Robert

Biological Sciences

University of Chicago Press

First printed in 1983, this book concerns the comparative physiological adaptations of vertebrate animals, especially mammals, to cessation of breathing. These adaptations were originally identified in species living in aquatic habitats. The argument is presented that the natural divers display a well-developed and conveniently studied example of a more general defence against asphyxia. The topics considered include the diving response, metabolic and cardiovascular adaptations, variations in resistance to asphyxia, neural control mechanisms, which govern the respiratory and circulatory responses, perinatal asphyxia, applications to the human species and medical implications. The book's purpose is to acquaint its readers with some advances resulting from research in this field.

Diving and Asphyxia: A Comparative Study of Animals and Man (Monographs of the Physiological Society)

Gooden, Brett

Cambridge University Press

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