Chest Injuries and Disorders

Summary

What is the chest?

The chest is the part of your body between your neck and your abdomen (belly). The medical term for your chest is thorax.

Your chest holds many important structures for breathing, digestion, blood circulation, and other important body functions. These structures include your:

• Ribs and breastbone
• Esophagus, the tube between your mouth and stomach
• Trachea, your windpipe
• Bronchi, the tubes that carry air from your windpipe to your lungs
• Lungs
• Pleura, a thin layer of tissue that covers the lungs and lines the inside wall of the chest space
• Heart and large blood vessels
• Thymus, a gland that’s part of your immune system
• Nerves

What are chest injuries and disorders?

Chest injuries and disorders are problems that affect any of the organs or structures located in your chest.

There are many types of chest injuries and disorders, for example:

• Broken ribs
• Esophagus disorders
• Swallowing disorders, also called dysphagia
• Tracheal disorders
• Bronchial disorders
• Lung diseases and collapsed lung
• Pleural disorders
• Heart diseases
• Mediastinal diseases, which are tumors, inflammation, and other problems with the structures in the mediastinum, which is the space between your lungs, breastbone, and spine
• Thoracic aortic aneurysm
• Thoracic outlet syndrome

Chest injuries may happen from the force of car accidents, falls, or sports injuries. Or the chest may be pierced by a bullet or sharp object. Because your chest holds so many important structures, certain chest injuries may be life-threatening.

How are chest injuries and disorders diagnosed?

Diagnosis of chest injuries or disorders depends on the type of symptoms you’re having and whether you’ve had a chest injury. Injuries are usually obvious, but in most cases, you’ll need tests to know how serious an injury is.

There are many types of tests for diagnosing different types of chest injuries and disorders, for example:

• Diagnostic imaging tests
• Heart tests
• Lung function tests
• Bronchoscopy
• Pleural fluid analysis
• Dysphagia tests
• Biopsy

Treatments will depend on the type of chest injury or disorder you have.

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) National Library of Medicine
• Chest X-Ray (Chest Radiography) Radiological Society of North America
• Tests for Lung Disease National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Encyclopedia

• Chest CT Medical Encyclopedia
• Chest MRI Medical Encyclopedia
• Chest x-ray Medical Encyclopedia
• Mediastinitis Medical Encyclopedia
• Mediastinoscopy with biopsy Medical Encyclopedia
• Pectus carinatum Medical Encyclopedia
• Pectus excavatum – discharge Medical Encyclopedia
• Pectus excavatum repair Medical Encyclopedia
• Pneumomediastinum Medical Encyclopedia
• Ribcage pain Medical Encyclopedia
• Slipping rib syndrome Medical Encyclopedia

Patient Handouts

• Chest tube insertion Medical Encyclopedia
• Costochondritis Medical Encyclopedia
• Mediastinal tumor Medical Encyclopedia
• Pectus excavatum Medical Encyclopedia
• Rib fracture – aftercare Medical Encyclopedia

Treatments and Therapies

• Chest tube insertion – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia
• Chest Tube Thoracostomy American Thoracic Society

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Mediastinal Diseases National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Rib Fractures National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Thoracic Diseases National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Thoracic Injuries National Institutes of Health

Specifics

• Costochondritis Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Mediastinitis Merck & Co., Inc.
• Rib Fractures Merck & Co., Inc.

Children

• Costochondritis (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Pectus excavatum repair – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia

Find an Expert

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Journal Articles

• Chest Injuries and Disorders

Living With

• Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic National Library of Medicine

Related Issues

• What Is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon? Society of Thoracic Surgeons