The respiratory and cardiovascular systems are highly intertwined, both anatomically and
physiologically. Respiratory and cardiovascular neurons are often co-localized in the same
brainstem regions, and this is particularly evident in the ventral medulla which contains
presympathetic neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla, premotor parasympathetic
cardioinhibitory neurons in the nucleus ambiguus, and the ventral respiratory group, which
includes the pre-Botzinger complex. Anatomical studies of respiratory and cardiovascular …