In frog sartorius muscle, after a tetanus at 20°C, during which an impulse-like increase occurs in the rate of ATP hydrolysis, the rate of 02 consumption (Qo,) reaches a peak relatively quickly and then declines monoexponentially, with a time constant not dependent on the tetanus duration (T = 2 .6 min in Rana pipiens and 2 .1 min in Rana temporaria). To a good approximation, these kinetics are those of a first-order impulse response, and the scheme of reactions that couple 02 consumption to extramitochondrial ATP hydrolysis thus behaves as a first-order system . It is first deduced and then demonstrated directly that while Qo,(t) is monoexponential, it changes in parallel with the levels of creatine and phosphorylcreatine, with proportionality constants ±1/Tp, where p is the P/02 ratio in vivo . From this, it is further deduced that the mitochondrial creatine kinase (CK) reaction is pseudo-first order in vivo . The relationship between [creatine] and Qo, predicted by published models of the control of respiration is markedly different from that actually observed . As shown here, the first-order kinetics of Qo, are consistent with the hypothesis that respiration is rate-limited by the mitochondrial CK reaction ; this has as a corollary the "creatine shuttle" hypothesis .