Respiratory control ratio ($\mathrm{RCR}=v_{\mathrm{ADP}}/v_{\mathrm{after}}$)

The respiratory control ratio divides the oxygen consumption rate during ADP-stimulated respiration by that after supplied ADP has been used. It compares reaction rates, not ATP formed per oxygen.^[ref]

A large ratio means strong stimulation under the comparison's conditions; it is not a universal measure of all mitochondrial functions.

For a constructed example, choose constant suspension volume $V=2\mathrm{mL}$ and oxygen concentration declines of $0.030$ and $0.006\mathrm{mmol}{\mathrm{L}}^{-1}\mathrm{mi}{\mathrm{n}}^{-1}$ during the two comparison windows. Assume no gas exchange or dilution and a correctly calibrated readout. A derivative converts each concentration slope into an amount of substance consumption rate:The common volume cancels in the ratio, so dividing the positive slope magnitudes gives the same answer. These are chosen inputs, not the 1955 observations. If an uncorrected influx of $3\mathrm{nmol}\mathrm{mi}{\mathrm{n}}^{-1}$ of oxygen occurred in both windows, the apparent rates would instead be $57$ and $9$, giving $19/3\approx 6.33$. The same absolute error can inflate a ratio because it removes a larger fraction of its smaller denominator.