Study: Mammals can ‘breathe’ through their anus | Abroad

Humans and many animals get oxygen through their lungs or gills, but some fish and spider species have an emergency back-up to survive, namely their anus. The researchers examined whether something similar is possible in mice, rats and pigs by depriving the animals of oxygen and then administering it through the anus, in gaseous form and an oxygen-rich liquid through an enema.

They rubbed the area around the animals’ anus to stimulate oxygen uptake. Since such treatment would meet with resistance in humans, they also tried it with a special liquid that has already been labeled as safe. With both methods, the test animals were found to absorb more oxygen, after which their behavior normalized. The little liquid absorbed with the oxygen did not cause any damage. Patients with respiratory distress can be helped in this way, according to one of the researchers.

The Japanese team hopes to test the effectiveness of the technique in humans.

–