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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.
Diaphragmatic excursion is the movement of the thoracic diaphragm during breathing. Normal diaphragmatic excursion should be 3–5 cm, but can be increased in well-conditioned persons to 7–8 cm. This measures the contraction of the diaphragm. It is performed by asking the patient to exhale and hold it.
Structure of diaphragm shown using a 3D medical animation still shot. The thoracic diaphragm, or simply the diaphragm (/ ˈ d aɪ ə f r æ m /; [1] Ancient Greek: διάφραγμα, romanized: diáphragma, lit. 'partition'), is a sheet of internal skeletal muscle [2] in humans and other mammals that extends across the bottom of the thoracic ...
The muscles of respiration are the muscles that contribute to inhalation and exhalation, by aiding in the expansion and contraction of the thoracic cavity. The diaphragm and, to a lesser extent, the intercostal muscles drive respiration during quiet breathing. The elasticity of these muscles is crucial to the health of the respiratory system ...
The lungs are not capable of inflating themselves, and will expand only when there is an increase in the volume of the thoracic cavity. [6] [7] In humans, as in the other mammals, this is achieved primarily through the contraction of the diaphragm, but also by the contraction of the intercostal muscles which pull the rib cage upwards and outwards as shown in the diagrams on the right. [8]
For example, a subphrenic abscess beneath the right diaphragm might cause a patient to feel pain in the right shoulder. Irritation of the phrenic nerve (or the tissues it supplies) leads to the hiccup reflex. A hiccup is a spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm, which pulls air against the closed folds of the larynx.
The respiratory pump is a mechanism to pump blood back to the heart using inspiration. It aids blood flow through the veins of the thorax and abdomen.. During inhalation, the volume of the thorax increases, largely through the contraction of the diaphragm, which moves downward and compresses the abdominal cavity.
During inhalation, the diaphragm contraction causes an increase in the thoracic cavity volume. This decreases the pressure inside the lungs, forcing the air to flow into the lungs. During exhalation, the diaphragm relaxation causes a decrease in the thoracic cavity volume. The increased lung pressure pushes the air out of the lungs. [2]