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Glite Dictionary
respiratory center

respiratory center

1 5.4
A part of the brain that controls how fast and deep you breathe by sending messages to breathing muscles
  • noun
  • /ˈrɛspəˌrɛtəri ˈsɛntər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : centro respiratorio
  • Nerve agents can severely impact the respiratory center, leading to breathing difficulties.

Examples

  • The doctor explained that damage to the respiratory center may cause a person to stop breathing involuntarily.

  • The PCRF projects fibers to the motor nucleus of the facial nerve, to the hypoglossal nucleus, and to the parabrachial nuclei, which contain some respiratory centers.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Most anesthetics can depress the respiratory center, resulting in reduced ventilation and oxygen supply.

Surface Forms

respiratory center singular
respiratory centers plural

Morphology

respiratory + center

The meaning is directly built from 'respiratory' (relating to breathing) plus 'center' (a focal place or region), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is the central area that controls breathing. Although the full medical detail (specific nuclei in the brainstem) is technical, the compositional logic is regular and cross-linguistically common, making the term predictable from its parts.

Etymology

Respiratory center gives a simple image: respiratory means 'breathing' and center is like a small control room in the brain that watches the body and tells the breathing muscles what to do. So, it refers to the brain area that controls how fast and how deeply you breathe.