IV. On the bending of the ribs in forced breathing
In a paper “On the Mechanical Conditions of the Respiratory Movements,” read before the Royal Society in November 1872, the author endeavoured to show that there is a distinct difference in the chord lengths of a sternal rib in the two positions of full inspiration and forced expiration, and that a certain degree of bending of the ribs usually takes place in forced breathing. The measurements on which these conclusions were based were made with a 3-plane stethometer, the performance of which was not sufficiently accurate to satisfy the author, who has accordingly repeated them by the aid of a new instrument, the construction and use of which are described at length in the present communication. The author considers that the new instrument gives fairly accurate results, which fully corroborate the conclusions previosly enunciated.