respiratory quotient

American

noun

Physiology.

the ratio of the amount of carbon dioxide released by the lungs to the amount of oxygen taken in during a given period.

respiratory quotient British

noun

biology the ratio of the volume of carbon dioxide expired to the volume of oxygen consumed by an organism, tissue, or cell in a given time

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of respiratory quotient

First recorded in 1885–90

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023