Journal of Physical Education and Sports Management

The Legacy of Adolf Eugene Fick for Exercise Physiology
Ramos Álvarez, Juan José; Lorenzo Capellá, Irma; Calderón Montero, Francisco Javier

Abstract
Unintentionally, Fick's contribution to exercise physiology has been fundamental both to the understanding of important concepts and to the practical application. Adolf Eugene Fick proposed a method for the determination of the average cardiac output, based on the principle of conservation of the mass of an indicator. However, the way Fick's equation is expressed by the physiological of the exercise is misused because they establish as a dependent variable the oxygen consumption. Never would Fick have thought that his principle for determining cardiac output would be so fundamental for understanding and applying the body's response to exercise. Therefore, it really should be said: “by solving oxygen consumption in Fick´s equation you get a good conceptual approach to the physiological factors that determine this very important parameter in exercise physiology. This article aims to highlight Fick's true contribution to knowledge of exercise physiology. Indeed, by clearing out Fick's equation, simple mathematical models of cardiac output and the arterio-venous oxygen difference during exercise can be obtained. Finally, from Fick's equation it is possible to understand which are the physiological factors limiting the maximum oxygen consumption, one of the central parameters of exercise physiology.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jpesm.v7n2a4