Neonatal development of the diaphragm of the horse, Equus caballus

The diaphragm of neonatal horses is significantly different from the diaphragm of adult horses in terms of histochemical fiber type composition, myosin heavy chain isoform, and native myosin isoform composition. There is a significant increase in the percentage of type I fibers present in the diaphragm with increasing age from birth through about seven months postnatal age. A possible lack of postural tone in the hiatal region of the neonatal diaphragm is suggested to account for increased incidence of vomiting or aspiration pneumonia in younger horses. The isoform data lead to rejection of the hypothesis that the diaphragm of the horse should, as an ungulate, be relatively precocial in its rate of maturation relative to other non‐ungulate mammals that have been studied. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.