The two mechanisms of intercostal muscle action on the lung.

The mechanisms of respiratory action of the intercostal muscles were studied by measuring the effect of external forces (F) applied to the ribs and by modeling the effect of F exerted by the intercostal muscles. In five dogs, with the airway occluded, cranial F were applied to individual rib pairs, from the 2nd to the 11th rib pair, and the change in airway opening pressure (Pao) was measured. The ratio Pao/F increases with increasing rib number in the upper ribs (2nd to 5th) and decreases in the lower ribs (5th to 11th). These data were incorporated into a model for the geometry of the ribs and intercostal muscles, and Pao/F was calculated from the model. For interspaces 2-8, the calculated values agree reasonably well with previously measured values. From the modeling, two mechanisms of intercostal muscle action are identified. One is the well-known Hamberger mechanism, modified to account for the three-dimensional geometry of the rib cage. This mechanism depends on the slant of an intercostal muscle relative to the ribs and on the resulting difference between the moments applied to the upper and lower ribs that bound each interspace. The second is a new mechanism that depends on the difference between the values of Pao/F for the upper and lower ribs.