A process as demanding in power as that of flapping flight influences most physiological systems very greatly and above all the respiratory system. In the thorax of adult winged insects, it has become so intricate and integrated by fusion and extension that it is difficult to describe in comparative or in functional terms. In fact, because of lack of knowledge about the functional morphology little is known about the supply of oxygen to the wing muscles and the exchange of respiratory gases between the thorax and the ambient air.

Copyright © 1964 The Company of Biologists Ltd.
1964
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