Describe elastic rebound.

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Elastic rebound is the passive return of the lungs and chest wall to their resting size after being stretched during inhalation. When the muscles of inspiration relax, the thoracic cavity decreases in volume, and the elastic fibers in lung tissue plus the surface tension in the alveoli pull the lungs inward. This recoil drives air out during quiet expiration without active muscle work. The other ideas describe active processes or events not part of this passive recoil, such as inhalation expansion, expiration by abdominal muscles, or alveolar collapse, which isn’t a normal part of elastic rebound.