DIAPHRAGM

or midriff, is the membranous partition which separates the chest from the abdomen. Itis composed of muscle and tendon, and its action is to move downwards when « breath is taken and upwards when the breath is expired. By these movements the chest is oh eee downwards, and so air is sucked in and then dim i or): that air is driven out. Spasm of the paps causes hiccough; are of the diaphragm is one of the serious complications of diphtheria. [s. 351]