Relative contribution of rib cage and abdomen to ventilation during exercise.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The relative volume changes of the rib cage and the abdomen were estimated during spontaneous breathing in subjects seated on a bicycle ergometer, at rest and during exercise, from measurements of changes in their anteroposterior diameters. These were compared with relative volume changes during voluntary relaxation. At rest, the chest wall deviated relatively little from its passive configuration, and the abdomen accounted for about 1/4 of the tidal volume. During exercise, with a tidal volume of about 30% of the vital capacity, the relative contribution of the abdomen increased to about 1/3. Concomitant with the increases in the volume displacement of the abdomen, the volume of the abdominal compartment at end expiration decreased relative to that of the rib cage, and substantial deviations from the passive configuration of the chest wall were observed. Implications of the observations with respect to the work of breathing are discussed.

This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit: