To assess energy expenditure of the diaphragm directly, a method was devised for percutaneous catheterization of the left inferior phrenic vein in dogs. Necropsy studies, including retrograde injection of india ink and measurement of radioactivity in diaphragmatic muscle strips, suggested that the territory drained by the inferior phrenic vein was uniformly perfused, and that there were no major anastomoses between this bed and adjacent ones.
