 | Term | Definition |
| |
Upper Airway |
nose, oropharynx, larynx, and trachea |
| |
Lower Airway structures |
bronchi, bronchioles |
| |
Thoracic Cavity |
extends from the top of the sternum to the diaphragm |
| |
Contents of the mediastinal space |
heart, thoracic, esophagus, trachea, inferior and superior vena cava, vagus nerves, phrenic nerves, and other vascular structures. |
| |
Breathing or ventilation |
accomplished by the alternate contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles |
| |
diphragm |
divides the abdominal and thoracic cavities |
| |
Preload |
volume in the left and right ventricles at the end of diastole |
| |
afterload |
the resistance or pressure in the arteries against which the ventricles must contract |
| |
ascending aorta |
part of aorta immediately proximal to the heart |
| |
The Aortic Arch |
attached to the pulmonary artery by the legamentum arteriosum |
| |
aortic isthmus |
portion of the aorta near the legamentum where the left subclavian artery origionates, tethered in position, less ability to tolerate accel/deceleration forces |
| |
Radicular arteries |
supply the anterior and posterior spinal arteries, and are the primary blood supply for the spinal cord |
| |
Brachial Plexus |
Network of nerve fibers that incorporates the nerve roots of C-5 to T-1, responsible for arm and hand function |
| |
Thorasic injuries are second only to the brain and spinal cord |
Leading cause of traumatic death |
| |
interpersonal violence |
an increase in this has had an impact on the pattern of injuries to the chest and neck |
| |
Mechanical Energy |
is the Most common energy source associated with chest and neck injuries |
| |
1st, 2nd ribs, and the sternum |
tend to resist energy loads better than other bones in the body, therefore if thes bones are fractured-suspect significant injury to underlying structures |
| |
Motor vehicle crashes |
account for 2/3rds of all chest trauma related deaths |
| |
Injuries to the neck |
most commonly associated with MVC |
| |
Types of injuries to the neck |
strangle, choke-holds, hangings, assaults, falls, sudden hyperextension (clothesline-type) |
| |
Frontal impact to the chest |
anterior flail chest, blunt cardiac injury, pneumothorax, transection of the aorta |
| |
side impact to the chest |
lateral flail chest, pneumothorax, traumatic aorta rupture, diaphragmatic rupture |
| |
thoracic injuries (motor vehicle vs pedestrian |
Thoracic injuries and abd injuries |
| |
Most common type of thoracic injury |
Blunt |
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