Contractile function and fatigue of the respiratory muscles in man.

Ventilation depends on the proper functioning of the respiratory muscles. These muscles, like other skeletal muscles, can endure high work loads for only short time periods. The work of breathing in patients with lung disease in increased and it has therefore been argued that respiratory muscle fatigue may develop and contribute to respiratory failure. We have studied the contractile function and fatigue of the sternomastoid muscle and the diaphragm in normal subjects and found that these respiratory muscles have the same contractile properties as limb muscles. If subjected to a high load they develop similar patterns of fatigue. Studies on the sternomastoid muscle in patients with lung disease also confirmed that respiratory stress produces fatigue.