Our lungs are not in our stomach, so how is it possible to expand our stomach when breathing in?

Question

What exactly is happening when we expand our stomach when breathing and what specifically are we doing differently when we breathe through our chest?

In: 4

Answer 1

The diaphragm separates the abdominal cavity from the chest cavity. Pulling the diaphragm down (it’s a muscle) pushes out the abdomen (stomach) and increases the size of the chest cavity, filling the lungs with air. The other way to breath in is to use the muscles between the ribs (intercostal muscles) to increase the size of the rib cage and thus the size of the chest cavity and the volume of lungs.