TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Overview of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathophysiology of the Diaphragm A1 - Shrager, Joseph B. A2 - Sugarbaker, David J. A2 - Bueno, Raphael A2 - Colson, Yolonda L. A2 - Jaklitsch, Michael T. A2 - Krasna, Mark J. A2 - Mentzer, Steven J. A2 - Williams, Marcia A2 - Adams, Ann Y1 - 2015 N1 - T2 - Adult Chest Surgery, 2e AB - The diaphragm is generally referred to as the main “respiratory muscle”—which is to some extent a misnomer. A better description would be that the diaphragm is the primary muscle of ventilation. Its critical physiological role is to serve as the main muscle which moves air into the lungs, where this air, of course, oxygenates the blood. Since delivery of oxygenated blood to all parts of the body is critical to life, and since intact cardiac and respiratory systems are the essential elements to assure that this oxygenated blood is manufactured and delivered, failure of any of the components that makes up either one of these systems results in death or severe disability. One could thus make a very strong argument that along with the heart and lungs, the diaphragm is one of the three most important organs in the body. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1105846927 ER -