Always wanted to know

Tonight I decided, hey, you three in the crowd are not the only ones who can pepper Dr. Preddy with your questions. [Pepper Doctor! Har.] Accordingly, I stood up and asked, during the discussion on the muscles of respiration, why we held our breath to get rid of the hiccups. Did the buildup of CO2 and the resultant higher blood acidity have some effect on the spasming diaphragm? Dr. Preddy: No idea. But! Taking a huge lungful of air stretches the diaphragm, which can bring it out of spasm. And actually, completely exhaling is even better for restoring diaphragmmatic normalcy. Or something like that. Anyway: go geek or go home is what I, anatomy nerd, command.