Respiration physiology
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Respiration physiology · Oct 1992
Mechanical characteristics and functional length of canine expiratory muscles.
The expiratory muscles of the abdominal region actively contribute to breathing. In dogs, the transversus abdominis appears to be the main abdominal muscle of expiration. The in vitro mechanical properties of the transversus abdominis have not been reported to date, and formed the basis of the present investigation. ⋯ In the prone posture, however, we noted that both abdominal muscles were located at similar positions along their length-tension curve, operating at a length of roughly 77% Lo. Since both muscles share common length-tension characteristics, the present results indicate that the tension generating potential of both muscles in prone dogs is equal for a given neural input. However, we conclude that the preferential recruitment of the transversus abdominis in prone animals must be related to factors other than simple tension generation.