Mechanical advantage of the canine diaphragm.

The mechanical advantage (mu) of a respiratory muscle is defined as the respiratory pressure generated per unit muscle mass and per unit active stress. The value of mu can be obtained by measuring the change in the length of the muscle during inflation of the passive lung and chest wall. We report values of mu for the muscles of the canine diaphragm that were obtained by measuring the lengths of the muscles during a passive quasistatic vital capacity maneuver. Radiopaque markers were attached along six muscle bundles of the costal and two muscle bundles of the crural left hemidiaphragms of four bred-for-research beagle dogs. The three-dimensional locations of the markers were obtained from biplane video-fluoroscopic images taken at four volumes during a passive relaxation maneuver from total lung capacity to functional residual capacity in the prone and supine postures. Muscle lengths were determined as a function of lung volume, and from these data, values of mu were obtained. Values of mu are fairly uniform around the ventral midcostal and crural diaphragm but significantly lower at the dorsal end of the costal diaphragm. The average values of mu are -0.35 +/- 0.18 and -0.27 +/- 0.16 cmH2O. g-1. kg-1. cm-2 in the prone and supine dog, respectively. These values are 1. 5-2 times larger than the largest values of mu of the intercostal muscles in the supine dog. From these data we estimate that during spontaneous breathing the diaphragm contributes approximately 40% of inspiratory pressure in the prone posture and approximately 30% in the supine posture. Passive shortening, and hence mu, in the upper one-third of inspiratory capacity is less than one-half of that at lower lung volume. The lower mu is attributed primarily to a lower abdominal compliance at high lung volume.