PROPERTIES OF THE OXYGEN TRANSPORT SYSTEM REGULATION AS THE FUNCTIONAL POTENTIAL REFLECTION OF ATHLETES' BODIES, ВЛАСТИВОСТІ РЕГУЛЯЦІЇ КИСНЕВОТРАНСПОРТНОЇ СИСТЕМИ ЯК ВІДОБРАЖЕННЯ ФУНКЦІОНАЛЬНОГО ПОТЕНЦІАЛУ ОРГАНІЗМУ СПОРТСМЕНІВ

<jats:p>Introduction. To develop and validate integrative criteria and to maximize the use of digital representation of the state of regulatory mechanisms of OTS; to determine the relationships between the key regulatory parameters and indicators of power, stability, efficiency, and mobility of functional systems under conditions of strenuous muscular activity; to apply this approach in practice for diagnosing the functional state and potential capabilities of athletes. Materials and Methods. The results of 264 complex physiological individual examinations conducted over a number of years using a holistic methodological approach (and specially adapted methods) were analyzed. One of the main tasks of our study was the development of methods for quantitative assessment of functional fitness factors, as well as some other theoretical and factual grounds for making a diagnostic model of functional fitness (registration of the main gas exchange parameters, external respiration, blood, and cardiovascular system at different loads). Results. Changes in the state of chemosensitive neural structures, neurogenic factors regulating respiration, and cardiovascular regulation, which determine the sensitivity of OTS responses, adequately reflect the functional capacity of the OTS on the whole, as well as various properties of the O2 transport systems that shape the functional fitness of athletes. A specialized analysis of the relationships between certain regulatory parameters of the body OTS and a number of important indicators of functional manifestations during various models of strenuous muscular work on a cycle ergometer shows that critical power of work, maximal O2 consumption, maximal pulmonary ventilation during exercise, respiratory rate and tidal volume, certain blood parameters, the anaerobic component of energy supply, as well as individual indicators of functional stability and recovery after exercise are largely determined by the sensitivity, levels, and response thresholds of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems to hypercapnia, hypocapnia, hypoxia, and some other regulatory properties. Conclusions. The criteria for characterizing the «states» of athletes, their approach to the peak of «sports functional form», load tolerance, and the identification of structural changes in functional fitness do not disclose all aspects of these issues and require further development. Their formulation, with an emphasis on the leading role of analyzing regulatory processes, is crucially important for improving physiological testing in sports.</jats:p>