Kostic P, et al. - Herein, the authors investigated the lung volume during the entire course of anesthesia without the confounding effects of surgical procedures. Furthermore, they examined the combination of three interventions to maintain lung volume and the emergence phase, with emphasis on the restored activation of the respiratory muscles. Effective maintenance of end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) could be obtained during anesthesia and even after extubation through a combined intervention consisting of lung recruitment maneuver (LRM), positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during emergence. The activation of the expiratory muscles contributing to EELV reduction during the emergence phase was unexpectedly brought to light.