Diaphragm facts for kids

The diaphragm is a special muscle inside your body that is super important for breathing! Think of it like a strong, curved sheet or dome located right below your lungs and heart. It separates the upper part of your body (where your chest is) from the lower part (where your tummy is). Its main job is to help you inhale (breathe in) and exhale (breathe out) air.

Quick facts

Name: Thoracic Diaphragm (but most people just call it "the diaphragm"). Type: It's a skeletal muscle, which means it's a muscle you can't usually control on purpose like your arm muscles, but it works automatically to keep you breathing. Location: It stretches across the bottom of your chest cavity, right under your lungs and heart. It acts like a floor for your chest and a roof for your abdomen (tummy area). Separation: It creates a partition, or wall, between your chest (thoracic cavity) and your abdomen (abdominal cavity).

How the Diaphragm Helps You Breathe

Breathing In (Inhalation)

When you want to take a breath, your brain sends a signal to the diaphragm. The diaphragm muscle contracts (gets shorter and tighter). Because of its dome shape, when it contracts, it flattens and moves downwards towards your abdomen. This downward movement makes the space inside your chest bigger. When the chest space gets bigger, it creates lower pressure inside your chest compared to the air outside your body.

Air naturally moves from an area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure. So, the air from outside rushes into your lungs to fill the extra space! This is how you inhale.

Breathing Out (Exhalation)

When you want to breathe out, your diaphragm muscle relaxes. When it relaxes, it goes back to its dome shape and moves upwards into your chest. This upward movement makes the space inside your chest smaller. Making the chest space smaller increases the pressure inside your chest. This higher pressure inside your chest pushes the air out of your lungs. This is how you exhale. Usually, breathing out is a relaxed process, like letting a balloon deflate.

Other Jobs of the Diaphragm

Besides breathing, the diaphragm helps with a few other things:

• Helping Push Things Out: The diaphragm can help increase pressure in your abdomen. This extra pressure can help your body push things out, like when you cough or sneeze.
• Preventing Acid Reflux: It helps put a little pressure on the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach (the [[esophagus[[) where it passes through the diaphragm. This can help prevent stomach acid from coming back up into the esophagus.

Structure

The diaphragm isn't just one solid piece; it's made of muscle and strong, fibrous tissue.

• Shape: It's a curved, C-shaped structure.
• Muscle Fibers: The muscle parts are mostly around the edges, attaching to your lower ribs and spine.
• Central Tendon: In the middle, the muscle fibers connect to a strong, flat, fibrous area called the central tendon. This central tendon is like the peak of the dome.

Openings in the Diaphragm

Even though it's a barrier, the diaphragm has some important openings to let things pass between the chest and the abdomen. There are three main openings for big structures:

• One for the large blood vessel (aorta) that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body.
• One for the esophagus (the tube that carries food to your stomach).
• One for a large vein (inferior vena cava) that carries blood from your lower body back to your heart.

There are also smaller openings for nerves and other blood vessels.

How the Diaphragm Gets Its Instructions and Energy

The diaphragm gets its instructions from a special nerve called the phrenic nerve. This nerve starts in your neck and travels down to the diaphragm, telling it when to contract and relax for breathing.

Like all muscles, the diaphragm needs blood to get oxygen and nutrients so it can work. It has its own network of arteries (carrying fresh blood) and veins (carrying used blood).

When the Diaphragm Doesn't Work Perfectly

Sometimes, the diaphragm can have problems, which can make breathing difficult.

• Paralysis: If the nerve that controls the diaphragm is damaged, the muscle might not be able to move properly. This is called paralysis. It can happen for different reasons and might affect one or both sides of the diaphragm.
• Herniation: Sometimes, a part of the stomach or other abdominal organs can push up through one of the openings in the diaphragm into the chest. This is called a hernia. It can cause problems with digestion or breathing. Babies can sometimes be born with a hernia if the diaphragm didn't form completely.

Looking at the Diaphragm

Doctors can use special pictures, like X-rays, to look at the diaphragm. This helps them see its shape and position and check if there are any problems, like fluid collecting in the chest or organs pushing through.

Diaphragm and Exercise

When you exercise, you breathe faster and deeper. Your diaphragm works harder during exercise to help you take in more air because your body needs more oxygen. Even though you breathe deeper, the diaphragm's basic position doesn't change much, but it works more vigorously to increase the rate of air moving in and out.

Interesting facts about the diaphragm

• The diaphragm is the most important muscle for breathing.
• In humans, the right side of the diaphragm is a little higher than the left side. This is because your large liver sits right underneath the right side.
• It's shaped like a dome or a parachute, curving upwards into your chest.
• In some animals, like birds, breathe in a completely different way and don't have a diaphragm like mammals do. Their breathing system uses air sacs and doesn't rely on a diaphragm creating pressure changes in the same way.
• The diaphragm starts forming very early when a baby is growing inside its mother. It begins as small parts that eventually join together to make the complete muscle.