Page "Carotid body" Paragraph 7

While the central chemoreceptors in the brainstem are highly sensitive to CO < sub > 2 </ sub > the carotid body is a peripheral chemoreceptor that mainly provides afferent input to the respiratory center that is highly O < sub > 2 </ sub > dependent.

However, the carotid body also senses increases in CO < sub > 2 </ sub > partial pressure and decreases in arterial pH, but to a lesser degree than for O < sub > 2 </ sub >