Abstract
Conclusions
These observations provide additional evidence that there is a post-operative embarrassment of respiration following abdominal operations and that it is the diaphragmatic component that is primarily affected.
Inasmuch as post-operative pulmonary complicatioils usually occur in the lower lobes and most commonly follow operations on the abdomen, it is probably more than a coincidence that abdominal operations result in decreased diaphragmatic excursions with the bitendant diminution of ventilation of the lower lobes of the lungs.
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