A method of sampling one or more respiratory profile characteristics and monitoring a variety of respiratory profile parameters. The sampled respiratory characteristics include respiratory flow rate, respiratory pressure, and partial pressure of at least one constituent of a patient's respiration. The method detects patient breaths, determines whether each breath is a spontaneous breath or a ventilator-induced breath and calculates various respiratory profile parameters based on the sampled measurements. The method displays the respiratory profile parameters in graphic and numeric forms. Preferably, the method allows a user to select the displayed respiratory profile parameters.