Fig. 1
FIG. 1.—Front view of the thorax showing the breastbone, to which on either side are attached the (shaded) rib cartilages. The remainder of the thoracic cage is formed by the ribs attached behind to the spine, which is only seen below. The lungs are represented filling the chest cavity, except a little to the left of the breastbone, below where the pericardium is shown (black). It can be seen that the ribs slope forwards and downwards, and that they increase in length from above downwards, so that if elevated by the muscles attached to them, they will tend to push forward the elastic cartilages and breastbone and so increase the antero-posterior diameter of the chest; moreover, the ribs being elastic will tend to give a little at the angle, and so the lateral diameter of the chest will be increased.
The bellows consists of the lungs enclosed in the movable thorax. The latter may be likened to a cage; it is formed by the spine behind and the ribs, which are attached by [!-- pagenumber --]cartilages to the breastbone (sternum) in front (vide [fig. 1]). The ribs and cartilages, as the diagram shows, form a series of hoops which increase in length from above downwards; moreover, they slope obliquely downwards and inwards (vide [fig. 2]). The ribs are jointed behind to the vertebrae in such a way that muscles attached to them can, by shortening, elevate them; the effect is that the longer ribs are raised, and pushing forward the breastbone and cartilages, the thoracic cage enlarges from before back; but being elastic, the hoops will give a little and cause some expansion from side to side; moreover, when the ribs are raised, each one is rotated on its axis in such a way that the lower border tends towards [!-- pagenumber --]eversion; the total effect of this rotation is a lateral expansion of the whole thorax. Between the ribs and the cartilages the space is filled by the intercostal muscles (vide [fig. 2]), the action of which, in conjunction with other muscles, is to elevate the ribs. It is, however, unnecessary to enter into anatomical details, and describe all those muscles which elevate and rotate the ribs, and thereby cause enlargement of the thorax in its antero-posterior and lateral diameters. There is, however, one muscle which forms the floor of the thoracic cage called the diaphragm that requires more than a passing notice (vide [fig. 2]), inasmuch as it is the most effective agent in the expansion of the chest. It consists of a [!-- pagenumber --]central tendinous portion, above which lies the heart, contained in its bag or pericardium; on either side attached to the central tendon on the one hand and to the spine behind, to the last rib laterally, and to the cartilages of the lowest six ribs anteriorly, is a sheet of muscle fibres which form on either side of the chest a dome-like partition between the lungs and the abdominal cavity (vide [fig. 2]). The phrenic nerve arises from the spinal cord in the upper cervical region and descends through the neck and chest to the diaphragm; it is therefore a special nerve of respiration. There are two—one on each side supplying the two sheets of muscle fibres. When innervation currents flow down these nerves the two muscular halves of the diaphragm contract, and the floor of the chest on either side descends; thus the vertical diameter increases. Now the elastic lungs are covered with a smooth pleura which is reflected from them on to the inner side of the wall of the thorax, leaving no space between; consequently when the chest expands in all three directions the elastic lungs expand correspondingly. But when either voluntarily or automatically the nerve currents that cause contraction of the muscles of expansion cease, the elastic structures of [!-- pagenumber --]the lungs and thorax, including the muscles, recoil, the diaphragm ascends, and the ribs by the force of gravity tend to fall into the position of rest. During expansion of the chest a negative pressure is established in the air passages and air flows into them from without. In contraction of the chest there is a positive pressure in the air passages, and air is expelled; in normal quiet breathing an ebb and flow of air takes place rhythmically and subconsciously; thus in the ordinary speaking of conversation we do not require to exercise any voluntary effort in controlling the breathing, but the orator and more especially the singer uses his knowledge and experience in the voluntary control of his breath, and he is thus enabled to use his vocal instrument in the most effective manner.
Fig. 2
Adapted from Quain's "Anatomy" by permission of Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co.
FIG. 2.—Diagram modified from Quain's "Anatomy" to show the attachment of the diaphragm by fleshy pillars to the spinal column, to the rib cartilages, and lower end of the breastbone and last rib. The muscular fibres, intercostals, and elevators of the ribs are seen, and it will be observed that their action would be to rotate and elevate the ribs. The dome-like shape of the diaphragm is seen, and it can be easily understood that if the central tendon is fixed and the sheet of muscle fibres on either side contracts, the floor of the chest on either side will flatten, allowing the lungs to expand vertically. The joints of the ribs with the spine can be seen, and the slope of the surface of the ribs is shown, so that when elevation and rotation occur the chest will be increased in diameter laterally.
Fig. 3