A person receives a serious cut on the back of the neck that is deep enough to severely damage the brain stem in the lower medulla. The respiratory effect of this type of wound would likely be:

• A. Catastrophic and it might result in a complete cessation of breathing.
• B. To reduce respiration to an irregular rhythm.
• C. To shift the oxygen-binding curve of haemoglobin to the left.
• D. To stimulate the production of additional diphosphoglyceric acid.