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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 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 muscle fibers are directed downwards, forwards and laterally forming right angle with external intercostal muscle. Innermost intercostal muscle also known as intercostalis intimus are deep layers of the internal intercostal muscles which are separated from them by a neurovascular bundle. The muscle fibers are directed downwards, forwards ...
During embryonic development of the thoracic diaphragm, myoblast cells from the septum invade the other components of the diaphragm. They thus give rise to the motor and sensory innervation of the muscular diaphragm by the phrenic nerve .
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.
Diaphragm (optics), a stop in the light path of a lens, having an aperture that regulates the amount of light that passes; Diaphragm (acoustics), a thin, semi-rigid membrane that vibrates to produce or transmit sound waves; Diaphragm (birth control), a small rubber dome placed in the vagina to wall off the cervix, thus preventing sperm from ...
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.