why do we need a Diaphram?

Question

and what would happen if we didnt have one?

Answer 1

the Diaphram is a muscle that controls your lungs. It pulls down and a partial vacuum is created in your lungs when they expand and they fill with air. no diaphram no breathing.

Answer 2

Diaphragm is essential for breathing.

When inhaling air, you diaphragm contracts and flattens. This increases the thoracic volume and hence pressure in the lungs decreases. The air outside the lungs is at a higher pressure than the air inside the lungs, hence air rushes into the lungs.

When exhaling, the diaphragm relaxes and aarches upwards. This decresaes the thoracic volume and hence pressure in lungs increses. Air rushes out of the lungs.

The diaphragm is also responsible for hiccups. Hiccups are caused by the involutary contraction/spasms of the diaphragm. Hiccups are essential in aiding peristalsis.

Answer 3

It's not true that we couldn't breathe without a diaphragm. After all, mammals are the only animals that have them. The diaphragm is useful when you take a deep breath, though. As a rule of thumb, diaphramatic breathing is more characteristic of men. Women tend to do more rib breathing, an adaptation that keeps pressure off the uterus when they are pregnant.

Answer 4

A very good question indeed why do we have it and reptiles amphbians and birds dont....

Well we breathe through negative pressure breathing that is to say we create a negatice pressure in our lungs for the air to rush in. Frogs and some lizards use positive pressure breathing where they inflate their lungs by pumping air into them from their mouths. They fill up their mouths with air and then contract the muscles in the oral cavity to force-fill the lungs. Birds on the other hand fill up airsacs in their abdomens from where they pump the air through their lungs and finally expell it from their thoracic airsacs.

In short we have diaphragm to allow us to create negative pressure in the thoracic cavity by contracting it, and pushing the viscera downwards; enlarging the thorax as a result.

Answer 5

Because our ribs moving up and out still isn't enough to create enough low pressure to breathe in. So a diaphram moves down to make a larger space, lower pressure = bigger suck in

Answer 6

they say when you breathe in you need a~ diaphram ,~ so O2 can get into your lungs.its expansion down wards allows a negative pressure in the lungs.
to get a really excellent answer use google or yahoo search.

Answer 7

How can we breath? How can we talk and sing? The Diaphra"g"m is the muscle that simply controls our respiration. If we can't breath, we would simply die. It is essential to the respiratory processes of Inhalation and Exhalation. Our erythrocytes will not carry oxygen no more.

Answer 8

u would not hav hiccups if u dint hav a diaphram

Answer 9

Just others have said. It is like a bellow. To breath or not to breath - that is the question.

Answer 10

We would die, as the diaphragm is contracted and relaxes each time we inhale and exhale air.