Respiratory physiology of high-altitude anurans: 55 years of research on altitude and oxygen

In a 1951 paper, perhaps the first one addressing adjustments of respiratory physiology in high-elevation anurans, L.C. Stuart tested the hypothesis that hemoglobin values were higher in the high-elevation Bufo bocourti than in the low-elevation species Bufo marinus. We use Stuart's paper as a starting point for a historical review of the field that encompasses the past 55 years. We start with the early search for evidence of physiological adjustments that took place in the 1960s, move to the studies with Telmatobius that dominated the 1970s and the 1980s, continue with the contributions of experimental physiology that characterized the 1990s, and finish with the discovery of mechanisms enhancing hemoglobin oxygen affinity in high-elevation anurans (2000s). When analyzing the last mentioned topic, we highlight the contributions by the late Professor Carlos Monge, to whom we dedicate this paper. Finally, we discuss the current state of the field, and propose directions for further studies. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.