Pathophysiology of respiratory muscles: Bases of mechanical ventilation and respiratory rehabilitation

Respiratory muscles are both cause and target of respiratory failure. Some neuro-muscular diseases are cause of pump failure and hypoxemia even with a normal lung. On the other hand in case of chronic lung failure respiratory muscles have a lower performance because of a lower oxygen feeding. Physiology and pathophysiology of muscular function can help in understanding both 1) mechanisms of "substitution" of muscular pump in case of fatigue with mechanical ventilation and 2) training of a weak muscle with rehabilitation.