Discontinuous gas exchange
PHYSIOLOGICAL PATTERN OF RESPIRATORY GAS EXCHANGE USED BY INSECTS
Discontinuous Gas Exchange Cycles (DGC); Discontinuous Gas Exchange Cycles; Discontinuous ventilation; Discontinuous respiration; Discontinuous ventilatory cycle
Discontinuous gas-exchange cycles (DGC), also called discontinuous ventilation or discontinuous ventilatory cycles, follow one of several patterns of arthropod gas exchange that have been documented primarily in insects; they occur when the insect is at rest. During DGC, oxygen (O2) uptake and carbon dioxide (CO2) release from the whole insect follow a cyclical pattern characterized by periods of little to no release of CO2 to the external environment.