What are the three portions of the sternum?
- Manubrium
- Sternal body
- Xiphoid process
How many ribs are present in a human body?
12
What is the junction between the sternal body and the manubrium?
Angle of Louis
Fill in the blank:
The muscle between each rib is called the ________ space.
intercostal
What runs on the bottom of each rib?
- nerves
- veins
- arteries
What organs/tissues are contained within the mediastinum?
- Heart
- Great Vessels
- Esophagus
- Trachea
- Mainstem bronchi
- Vagus and phrenic Nerve
Assessment:
palpating the chest
- Crepitus
- Subcutaneous emphysema
- Edema
- Tracheal position
- Tenderness
- Deformities
- Bony instability
What does Jugular Venous Distention suggest clinically?
Increased intravenous pressure.
What are the causes of Jugular Venous Distention?
- Tension pneumothorax
- Volume overload
- Right-sided heart failure
- Cardiac tamponade
Describe:
flail chest
Two or more adjacent ribs fractured.
What type of chest movement is found in a flail chest?
paradoxical movement
Treatment:
flail chest
positive pressure ventilation
Define:
tension pneumothorax
Accumulation of air within the pleural cavity, causing a decrease in preload and intrathoracic pressure.
What are the signs/symptoms of pneumothorax?
- pulsus paradoxus
- JVD
- progressive respiratory distress
- unequal chest wall movement
- decreased unilateral lung sounds
Treatment:
tension pneumothorax
- Perform needle chest decompression using a 14-gauge needle.
- Administer oxygen.
- Repeat needle decompressions if necessary.
What are the locations for needle decompression?
- 2nd ICS, mid-clavicular line
- 4th or 5th ICS, mid-axillary line
Define:
hemothorax
Accumulation of blood within the pleural cavity.
Define:
cardiac tamponade
Fluid accumulation within the pericardial sac.
What are the signs/symptoms of pericardial tamponade?
- Beck’s triad
- Electrical alternans
- Altered mental status
What are the components of Beck’s Triad?
- Hypotension
- Muffled heart tones
- JVD
Treatment:
cardiac tamponade
Pericardiocentesis
Requires hospital-based or ALS physician intervention.
Define:
Commotio Cordis
Direct blow to the chest during the heart’s absolute repolarization period.
Define:
Aortic Dissection
A tear in the inner layer of the aorta, allowing blood to flow between the layers.
What types of traumas are likely to cause aortic dissection?
- high speed collision
- falls
