Breathing is one of the essential processes of the body that sustains life along with the cardiovascular and neural activities. More specifically, it is responsible for the intake and absorption of the oxygen, which, in turn, is supplied into the rest of the organs through blood. When it comes to the respiratory system of the body, most people would think of the lungs and bronchi, but these parts rely heavily on the performance of the respiratory muscles. The majority of them is formed by the muscles that are attached to a person’s rib cage. Some of them cause the expansion of the thoracic cavity, allowing the body to inhale the air into the lungs.
Having completed the process of the oxygen absorption, the system activates the muscles that compress the thoracic cavity (Miller et al., 2019). Following this step, the muscular pressure evacuates the oxygen-deprived air back into the atmosphere. Then, the cycle repeats itself throughout the lifespan of the organism, only coming to a halt upon death. Interestingly, the prolonged pause of the respiratory muscle functioning does not imply the irreversible death of the organism. With due reanimation procedures, the cycle can be restarted if the brain is preserved enough to send a corresponding signal through the nerves.
The muscles of respiration form a complex system that interacts with the body in an uninterrupted cyclical nature. However, there is one muscle of particular importance that defines the state of the entire system. It is called the diaphragm and located underneath the rib cage. This is the strongest muscle of the respiratory system that lifts and lowers the chest, causing the expansion or compression of the lungs. In addition, while most of the cycle is performed through the natural recoil ability of the lungs, internal intercoastals, intercostalis intimi, and abdominal muscles may lead to the forceful expiration upon need (Miller et al., 2019). Overall, the muscles of respiration enable the normal functioning of the lungs and other organs. Their form is important for the proper oxygen intake, making it necessary to control the health of these muscles.
Reference
Miller, A. D., Bianchi, A. L., & Bishop, B. P. (2019). Neural control of the respiratory muscles. CRC Press.