Gravitational forces on the chest wall.

The gravitational work of breathing was determined by measuring the vertical motion of body mass. The subject, seated or lying supine on a force platform, performed breathing maneuvers in which rib cage volume (Vrc) and abdominal volume (Vab) were changed in varying proportions. The increment in the vertical force exerted on the platform and Vrc and Vab were measured over the course of each maneuver. The force signal was integrated twice with respect to time to obtain the change in the product of mass and height of the subject. This was multiplied by the gravitational acceleration to obtain the change in the gravitational potential (Ug). Simultaneous values of Ug, Vrc, and Vab were taken from the data, and the values of the coefficients for which the following equation best fit these values were determined: Ug = a1 Vrc + a2 Vab + (1/2)a11 Vrc2 + a12 Vrc Vab + (1/2)a22 Vab2. The coefficients a1 and a2 can be interpreted as the values of the expiratory gravitational forces on the rib cage and abdomen, respectively. In the seated posture, the force on the rib cage is expiratory and the force on the abdomen is inspiratory; the magnitudes of both are approximately 8 cmH2O. In the supine posture, both are expiratory forces of approximately 9 cmH2O. The coefficients of the quadratic terms in Ug are all positive, and the gravitational work per unit volume of chest wall expansion increases with increasing volume in both postures. The coefficients of the quadratic terms can be interpreted as gravitational contributions to the elastances of the compartments.