RT Book, Section
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
SR Print(0)
ID 1105846927
T1 Overview of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathophysiology of the Diaphragm
T2 Adult Chest Surgery, 2e
YR 2015
FD 2015
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-178189-3
LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1105846927
RD 2024/04/24
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.