Ventilation, pulmonary and cutaneous gas exchange in the awake lizard Lacerta viridis

Simultaneous measurements of ventilation and pulmonary gas exchange in awake lizard Lacerta viridis showed: 1. 1. a triphasic ventilatory rhythm associated with inspiratory movements of the throat. A highly significant correlation exists between breathing pause duration and preceding inspired volume. 2. 2. a moderate efficiency of the lung-pharynx system, i.e. oxygen extraction coefficient was lower (9.3%) and convection requirement higher (1.40 mlBTPS/μmole) than those measured in other airbreathers. Body confinement procedure showed a cutaneous respiration, through a highly vascularized dermis, assuming 10% of overall O 2 transfer and 16% of CO 2.