What muscle do infants primarily use to breathe?

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Multiple Choice

What muscle do infants primarily use to breathe?

Explanation:
Infants primarily breathe with the diaphragm. When the diaphragm contracts, it flattens and expands the thoracic cavity, drawing air into the lungs. In newborns, the chest wall is very compliant and the intercostal muscles are not as developed, so most of the work of inspiration comes from diaphragmatic (abdominal) movement rather than lifting the ribs. The abdominal muscles aren’t the drivers of normal inspiration, and the pectoralis major is an accessory muscle used mainly during labored breathing, not during typical, quiet breathing.

Infants primarily breathe with the diaphragm. When the diaphragm contracts, it flattens and expands the thoracic cavity, drawing air into the lungs. In newborns, the chest wall is very compliant and the intercostal muscles are not as developed, so most of the work of inspiration comes from diaphragmatic (abdominal) movement rather than lifting the ribs. The abdominal muscles aren’t the drivers of normal inspiration, and the pectoralis major is an accessory muscle used mainly during labored breathing, not during typical, quiet breathing.

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