Chest Injuries and Disorders

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

The chest is the part of the body between your neck and your abdomen. It includes the ribs and breastbone. Inside your chest are several organs, including the heart, lungs, and esophagus. The pleura, a large thin sheet of tissue, lines the inside of the chest cavity.

Chest injuries and disorders include:

• Heart diseases
• Lung diseases and collapsed lung
• Pleural disorders
• Esophagus disorders
• Broken ribs
• Thoracic aortic aneurysms
• Disorders of the mediastinum, the space between the lungs, breastbone, and spine

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Chest MRI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Chest X-Ray (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Chest X-Ray (Chest Radiography) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• What is Bronchoscopy? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Chest tube insertion - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Chest Tube Thoracostomy (American Thoracic Society) - PDF Also in Spanish

Living With

• Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• What Is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon? (Society of Thoracic Surgeons) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Atelectasis (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Costochondritis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Mediastinitis (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Rib Fractures (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

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)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Complications associated with pre-hospital open thoracostomies: a rapid review.
• Article: Safety of mechanical and manual chest compressions in cardiac arrest patients:...
• Article: Measurements of respiratory muscle function as diagnostic criteria for diaphragmatic paralysis.
• Chest Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• Costochondritis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Pectus excavatum repair - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Chest tube insertion (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Costochondritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Mediastinal tumor (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pectus excavatum (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Rib fracture - aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish