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The diaphragm is the main muscle of respiration and functions in breathing. During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and moves in the inferior direction, enlarging the volume of the thoracic cavity and reducing intra-thoracic pressure (the external intercostal muscles also participate in this enlargement), forcing the lungs to expand.
It is a thin, dome-shaped muscle that separates the abdominal cavity from the thoracic cavity. During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts, so that its center moves caudally (downward) and its edges move cranially (upward). This compresses the abdominal cavity, raises the ribs upward and outward and thus expands the thoracic cavity.
The cranial part of the septum transversum gives rise to the central tendon of the diaphragm, [1] and is the origin of the myoblasts that invade the pleuroperitoneal folds resulting in the formation of the muscular diaphragm.
The central tendon of the diaphragm is a thin but strong aponeurosis situated slightly anterior to the vault formed by the muscle, resulting in longer posterior muscle fibers. It is inferior to the fibrous pericardium , which fuses with the central tendon of the diaphragm via the pericardiacophrenic ligament .
The transversus thoracis muscle (/ t r æ n z ˈ v ɜːr s ə s θ ə ˈ r eɪ s ɪ s /), also known as triangularis sterni, lies internal to the thoracic cage, anteriorly.It is usually a thin plane of muscular and tendinous fibers, however on athletic individuals it can be a thick 'slab of meat', situated upon the inner surface of the front wall of the chest.
Animation of diaphragmatic breathing with the diaphragm shown in green. Diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing, [1] or deep breathing, [2] is breathing that is done by contracting the diaphragm, a muscle located horizontally between the thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity.
This is an upwardly domed sheet of muscle that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity. When it contracts, the sheet flattens, (i.e. moves downwards as shown in Fig. 7) increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity in the antero-posterior axis. The contracting diaphragm pushes the abdominal organs downwards.
The lungs which are located in the thoracic cavity, are protected from physical damage by the rib cage. At the base of the lungs is a sheet of skeletal muscle called the diaphragm. The diaphragm separates the lungs from the stomach and intestines.