Mammals Can Breathe Through Anus in Emergencies

How the heck?:

A team of Japanese scientists has shown it is possible for mammals to absorb oxygen via the anus.

Intrigued by how certain sea creatures breathe through their intestines in emergencies, researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University were able to prove the same was true under experimental circumstances for mice, rats and pigs, publishing their findings in the journal Med on Friday.

..."The rectum has a mesh of fine blood vessels just beneath the surface of its lining, which means that drugs administered through the anus are readily absorbed into the bloodstream," lead author Ryo Okabe said.

This made the team wonder whether oxygen could be delivered into the bloodstream in the same way.

To answer the question, they decided to carry out experiments on oxygen-deprived mice, pigs and rats using two methods: delivering the oxygen into the rectum in gas form, and infusing an oxygen-rich enema via the same route.

The researchers prepared the lining of the rectum by rubbing it to cause inflammation and increase blood flow, which improved the effectiveness of oxygen delivery.

However, since such a preparation would likely be unacceptable for humans, they also tried using oxygenated perfluorodecalin, a liquid that has already been shown to be safe and is in selective clinical use. 

Delivery of oxygen both as gas and in liquid form increased oxygenation, normalized the animals' behavior and prolonged their survival.

Tonight's Earworm - Junior's Farm - Paul McCartney & Wings

Paul McCartney is so good!

 

Best Hiking Buds, Forever!

Marc Valdez and Ira Gershin - best hiking buds, with Pine Creek in the background, at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, just outside Las Vegas, Nevada!

The Gondolas at the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas

While in Las Vegas, we dropped in for a few minutes to the Venetian Casino, to look at the gondolas.

Scenic Drive at BLM's Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Wilderness Behind The Velvet Rope - BLM's Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

How do you run a popular semi-wilderness area right next to a major city? The Bureau of Land Management's Red Rock NCA seems like a good model for how to do it. Two million visitors a year!  Still, I felt pretty estranged from the semi-wilderness. It felt like the American West of the distant future - carefully held apart from actual contact.  And probably no other choice.  Fortunately, there are other parts of the West that are not nearly so popular and all too real.

Santa Fe Station

 

Paymon's

 

Trip to Las Vegas, NV - May 11, 2021

Takeoff from Sacramento, CA, heading north.

At the triple junction between Sacramento/Sutter/Placer Counties, near Counsman, CA.

Drought-stricken Folsom Lake, northeast of Sacramento.

A lava flow near Aurora Crater, southwest of Hawthorne, NV.

Hawthorne, Nevada, Walker Lake, and environs.

Luning and Mina, NV, and environs.

Along Highway 95, between Tonopah and Goldfield, NV.

Nye, County, NV.

Looking into the Las Vegas Valley over the crest of the mountains west of town.  Red Rock Canyon to the left.

Along Highway 160 between Pahrump and Las Vegas, NV.

Approaching landing at McCarran International Airport, south-southwest of town.

Textured-looking hills, southwest of Las Vegas.

Desert Oasis High School.

Interstate 15 and Warm Springs Rd. overpass.

The Strip!

A Neighbor's Agave

That stalk is huge!

The Forever War