(n) :
in mammals, a sheet of muscle separating the thorax from the abdomen, contracted and relaxed in respiration to draw air into and expel air from the lungs; a flexible membrane separating two chambers and fixed around its periphery that distends into one or other chamber depending on the as the difference in the pressure in the chambers varies
(n) :
in mammals, a sheet of muscle separating the thorax from the abdomen, contracted and relaxed in respiration to draw air into and expel air from the lungs; a flexible membrane separating two chambers and fixed around its periphery that distends into one or other chamber depending on the as the difference in the pressure in the chambers varies