120 



COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



bone and ribs) and tlie diaphragm^ or muscular partition, 

 separating it from the abdomen."' Inspiration (or filling 

 the lungs) and expiration (or emptying the lungs) are both 

 accomplished by muscular exertion ; the former, by raising 

 the ribs and lowering the diaphragm, thus enlarging the 



capacity of the chest, in 

 consequence of which the 

 air rushes in to prevent a 

 vacuum ; the latter, by the 

 ascent of the diaphragm 

 and the descent of the ribs. 

 As a rule, the more ac- 

 tive and more muscular an 

 animal, the greater the de- 

 mand for oxygen. Thus, 

 warm-blooded animals live 

 fast, and their rapidly de- 

 caying tissues call for rapid 

 respiration ; while in the 

 cold-blooded creatures the 

 waste is comparatively 

 slow. Respiration is most 

 active in Birds, and least 

 in water-breathing animals. 

 The sluggish Toad respires 

 more slowly than the busy 

 Bee, the Mollusk more slowly than the Fish. But respi- 

 rations, like beats of the heart, are fewer in large Mam- 

 mals than in small ones. An average Man inhales about 

 300-400 cubic feet of air per day of rest, and much more 

 when at work. 



Another result of respiration, besides the purification 

 of the blood, is tlie production of heat. The chemical 

 combination of the oxygen in the air with the carbon in 

 the tissues is a true combustion ; and, therefore, the more 



Fig. 38.— Hnman Thorax: a, vertebral col- 

 umn ; &, 6', ribs, the lower ones false ; c, 

 clavicle; c, intercoBtal muscles, removed 

 on the left side to show the diaphragm, d; 

 /, pillars of the diaphragm attached to the 

 lumbar vertebra; ; g', muscles for elevating 

 the ribs ; /i, sternum. 



