{"id":2358,"date":"2024-01-14T15:22:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T14:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/the-diaphragm-diaphragma\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T19:56:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T17:56:01","slug":"the-diaphragm-diaphragma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/the-diaphragm-diaphragma\/","title":{"rendered":"The diaphragm (diaphragma)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Zwerchfell.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Zwerchfell.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Zwerchfell-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Zwerchfell-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Zwerchfell-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Zwerchfell-585x585.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anatomy of the diaphragm (diaphragma):<\/h5>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The diaphragm (diaphragma) is the primary muscle of breathing and also forms the boundary between the thoracic cavity and the abdominal cavity. The muscular plate of the diaphragm (diaphragma), which consists of several parts, originates from the ribs, the lumbar spine, and the sternum. At the centre of the diaphragm is the tendinous central tendon (centrum tendineum), which serves as the common insertion of the three muscle parts and is overlain on both sides by muscular diaphragmatic domes. The diaphragm is innervated by the phrenic nerve (nervus phrenicus).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Openings in the musculature and in the tendinous plate of the diaphragm allow various anatomical structures to pass through, running from the thoracic cavity into the abdominal cavity or vice versa. These include, among others:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The oesophageal hiatus (hiatus oesophagus) for the oesophagus and the vagal trunks (trunci vagales; vagus nerve);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The caval opening (foramen venae cavae) for the inferior vena cava and the right phrenicoabdominal branch (ramus phrenicoabdominalis dexter) of the phrenic nerve<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The aortic hiatus (hiatus aortae) for the aorta and the thoracic duct (ductus thoracicus)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Larrey\u2019s fissure (left sternocostal triangle; trigonum sternocostale sinistrum), often described in the literature as the passage site of the left superior epigastric artery and vein.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The foramen of Morgagni (right sternocostal triangle; trigonum sternocostale dextrum): the right superior epigastric artery and vein.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The medial lumbar gap for the azygos vein (right), hemiazygos vein (left), the greater splanchnic nerve, and the lesser splanchnic nerve.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The lateral lumbar gap for the sympathetic trunk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another clinically important region of the diaphragm is the muscle-free area at the transition between the lumbar part (pars lumbalis) and the costal part (pars costalis), the lumbocostal triangle (Bochdalek\u2019s fissure).<br\/>&#8211; The left phrenicoabdominal branch (ramus phrenicoabdominalis sinister) of the phrenic nerve usually passes independently of the above-mentioned passage sites directly through the central tendon (centrum tendineum) or the lumbar part (pars lumbalis) of the diaphragm. Occasionally, it also passes through the oesophageal hiatus (hiatus oesophagus).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The diaphragm (diaphragma) is supplied by the phrenic nerve (diaphragmatic nerve), which arises from the cervical plexus (segments C3 to C5 of the cervical spine).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Central nervous control of the diaphragm is mediated by the respiratory centre in the medulla oblongata and the pons. The neuronal networks located here control the motor root cells of the phrenic nerve (diaphragmatic nerve) in the cervical spinal cord. Like the rest of the skeletal musculature, the diaphragm can also be controlled voluntarily. This is mediated by nerve pathways from the cerebral cortex, which, among other things, enable conscious breath-holding. The diaphragm is therefore subject to both involuntary, autonomic control and voluntary control.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During contraction, the diaphragm changes from a dome shape to a flatter conical shape. In humans, it shortens by approximately 30% in the process. This increases thoracic volume, which is the main driver of inspiration.<\/p>\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Diseases of the diaphragm (diaphragma):<\/h5>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diaphragmatic paralysis, after an accident or spontaneously without an identifiable cause (elevated hemidiaphragm)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Diaphragmatic tear (diaphragmatic rupture) as a result of an accident<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Diaphragmatic hernias, due to defects in the area of the anatomical passage sites between the abdominal cavity and the thoracic cavity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anatomy of the diaphragm (diaphragma): The diaphragm (diaphragma) is the primary muscle of breathing and also forms the boundary between the thoracic cavity and the abdominal cavity. The muscular plate&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thorax-function-and-anatomy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2359,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358\/revisions\/2359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorax-schweiz.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}