Dorothy FarrarThorax
Thorax is the medical-anatomical term for the chest. The rib cage encloses the chest cavity and the upper part of the abdomen. It is formed from the thoracic spine, sternum and ribs.
Definition
The thorax is the chest of the human body. It is made up of the thoracic vertebrae, ribs and breastbone. The attached muscles , ligaments and tissues also belong to the thorax.
Various organs are located within the thorax. These include, for example, the lungs , the heart or the esophagus . Due to the seat of the central cardiovascular organs, the thorax is one of the most important parts of the body in medicine. Cardiology and pneumology in particular deal with the thorax.
Anatomy
The skeleton of the thorax is made up of the thoracic vertebrae, the ribs and the breastbone. Humans have twelve pairs of ribs. Each rib consists of a rib bone and a rib cartilage. The gap between two ribs is also known as the intercostal space.
The ribs are connected to the spine by small joints . The heads of the ribs always touch two consecutive vertebrae. Exceptions are the 1st, 11th and 12th ribs in humans. They are only in contact with one thoracic vertebra at a time.
The costal cartilage of the true ribs is firmly attached to the sternum. The free ribs, on the other hand, have no connection to the breastbone. The breastbone, also known as the sternum in technical jargon, is a flat bone shaped like a sword. It is located in the center front of the thorax and consists of three sections. The sections are designated, from top to bottom, as the manubrium sterni, corpus sterni, and processus xiphoideus.
The thoracic vertebrae are at the center back of the chest. There are twelve vertebrae in total in the thoracic spine. The chest is also bounded by various muscles and ligaments from the front and back. At the front are the external chest muscles and at the back are the back muscles . The intercostal muscles lie between the individual ribs.
Function
The main task of the thorax is to protect the organs in the chest area. These include the lungs, heart, thymus, esophagus, trachea and numerous blood and nerve vessels. The thorax also plays an important role in breathing.
During inhalation, the volume of the chest increases due to the respiratory muscles and the auxiliary respiratory muscles. The lungs and thorax are covered with serous membranes (pleura). The inner sheet of the pleura encases the lungs and part of the diaphragm . The outer layer of the pleura lines the inner wall of the thorax.
The pleural space lies between the two leaves. This contains a few milliliters of liquid. This film of liquid causes the two layers of the pulmonary membrane to stick together and the lungs follow the movements of the thorax. If the thorax now expands during inhalation, the lung volume also increases. The air can flow in. When you exhale, the thorax sinks, the lungs shrink again and the air flows out.
Diseases
- Pneumothorax
- tension pneumothorax
- hemothorax
If air enters the pleural space and the negative pressure is removed, the lungs collapse and can no longer follow the breathing movements of the thorax. Such an entry of air into the pleural space is called a pneumothorax. If this develops into a tension pneumothorax, a life-threatening situation arises.
Causes of a pneumothorax are stab wounds or gunshot wounds, broken ribs, bronchial asthma , tuberculosis or lung cancer . Typical symptoms of a pneumothorax are pain in the affected half of the chest, shortness of breath and coughing .
A hemothorax is a variant of pleural effusion. It is a collection of blood in the thorax. This is usually caused by a rupture of vessels within the thorax or a perforation of organs.
For example, a perforation of the esophagus can result in a hemothorax. Patients with a hemothorax suffer from severe pain and increasing shortness of breath. Cyanosis , a blue discoloration of the skin , also develops .
Another important clinical picture in the area of the thorax is pneumonia. In pneumonia, inflammation of the lung tissue is caused by viruses , bacteria , fungi , parasites or pollutants. Characteristic symptoms of classic pneumonia are fever , chills and difficulty breathing. Depending on the severity and cause, the symptoms can also be completely absent.
Symptoms in the thoracic area also occur during a heart attack. In a heart attack, heart tissue is destroyed due to a circulatory disorder . Almost a quarter of all heart attacks are asymptomatic. The classic cardinal symptom, however, is angina pectoris with acute pain behind the breastbone. The pain can also radiate to the left arm, neck, or lower jaw. Shortness of breath, dizziness and nausea often occur .
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.