A contribution to the study of the mechanism of respiration : with especial reference to the action of the vertebral column and diaphragm / by J.F. Halls Dally ; communicated by T. Clifford Allbutt.

  • Dally, John Frederick Halls, 1877-1944.
Date:
[1908]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A contribution to the study of the mechanism of respiration : with especial reference to the action of the vertebral column and diaphragm / by J.F. Halls Dally ; communicated by T. Clifford Allbutt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    movement, the vertical range of their inner ends on the right side being 28 mm., on the left side 27 mm.; of their outer ends, on the right side 21 mm., on the left side 16 mm. The divergence from the median line is, on the right side 7 mm., on the left side 6 mm. (5) The meso-metasternal articulation either may remain in the same horizontal plane, or may rise as much as 46 mm. The average ascent is 28 mm. (6) Widening of the infra-costal angle occurs, the interval between the costal margins, measured on each side at a level of 30 mm. below the meso- metasternal articulation, being increased by 26 mm. (7) The trunk is widened at the level of the meso-metasternal plane 9 mm. on the right side, and 8 mm. on the left, and midway between the meso-metasternal plane and lowest point of the costal margin 9 mm. on the right side, and 11 mm. on the left. (8) The umbilicus is retracted and drawn upwards in deep respiration for a distance of 13 mm., on account of the active recession of the abdominal wall produced by the contraction of the abdominal muscles, which, in this phase of respiration, act as antagonists of the spinal muscles. The upward displacement of the umbilicus is usually to the right, but may be median or to the left, the lateral deviation being 7 mm. (9) The heart and pericardium together undergo important changes in size and position as a result of the respiratory movements, being lengthened and narrowed in inspiration, shortened and widened during expiration. (10) The pericardium, at the level of its attachment to the central tendon in the adult, measures 80 mm. in an ter o-posterior diameter. II. The Movement of the Vertebral Column in Respiration. I can find no reference to this movement in eight of the latest and best known text-books of physiology. That this movement is actual and of mechanical advantage in breathing can be verified by visual and ortho- diagraphic examination. In the latter the subject is rotated through an angle of 30° to 45° into the “ lateral oblique ” position. The shadow of the vertebral column is seen clearly separated from that of the pericardium and great vessels by a transradiant triangle, the base of which is formed by the upper surface of the diaphragm. On inspiration the posterior wall of this triangle, formed by the vertebral column, recedes, to a greater extent below than above, and so opens out the interval from before backwards. With subsequent expiration the spine advances. Explanation of the Spinal Respiratory Movement.—A general rectification of the curve of the thoracic spine takes place. In eight orthodiagraphic
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