TYPES OF CHEST INJURY

Serious chest injury

Pain or difficulty breathing that starts immediately after an injury may mean that organs inside the
chest, such as the lungs, heart, or blood vessels, have been damaged. Other symptoms often develop
quickly, such as severe shortness of breath or signs of shock.
A forceful blow to the chest can injure organs in the chest or upper abdomen.

A blow to the front of the chest (sternum) can injure the heart or large blood vessels or the tube
leading from the mouth to the stomach (esophagus).

A blow to the chest can injure the lungs or the airway (trachea).

A blow to the back of the chest can injure a kidney.

A blow to the side of the chest or the lower chest can injure the liver or spleen

Minor chest injury

You may have chest wall pain after a less serious injury. This pain can occur with movement of a
shoulder, an arm, the rib cage, or the trunk of the body.
Even a minor injury can cause chest pain for days after the injury. Deep breathing, coughing, or
sneezing can increase the pain, as can pressing down on or lying on the injured area.
Rib fracture
An injury to the chest may break or crack a rib or injure the cartilage of the rib cage. Symptoms of a rib
fracture include:

Sharp, severe pain in the area of the chest injury.

Pain that gets worse when you breathe or cough.
Pain that gets worse when you press or lie on the injured area.

PNEUMOTHORAX
Definition: Pneumothorax is a collapsed lung which occurs when air leaks into the space between your
lungs and chest wall. This air pushes on the outside of your lung and makes it collapse.
Causes: - chest injury: Any blunt or penetrating injury to your chest can cause lung collapse
-

underlying lung disease : Damaged lung tissue is more likely to

collapse. Eg Emphysema, Tuberculosis,Pneumonia, Cystic
fibrosis, Lung cancer,Pulmonary fibrosis,Sarcoidosis
ruptured air blisters (blebs) : Small air blisters (blebs) can develop on the top of your lung.
occur more often on the lungs of people who are tall and thin.
While most blebs rupture for no apparent reason, they can
rupture from changes in air pressure when you're Scuba
diving, Flying, Mountain climbing at high altitudes

Symptoms: - Chest pain. Sudden, sharp chest pain on the same side as the affected lung this pain
doesn't occur in the center of your chest under the breast bone. And it doesn't worsen
when you breathe in and out.
- Shortness of breath. This may be mild or severe, depending on how much of your lung is
collapsed and whether you have underlying lung disease.

TENSION PNEUMOTHORAX
A tension pneumothorax occurs secondary to blunt or penetrating injury of the lung which results in a
one-way valve being created. Air leaks from the lung out into the pleural space and is unable to escape,
resulting in increased intrapleural pressure. Intrapleural pressure eventually increases to the point
where it interferes with venous return, resulting in blood pooling in capacitance vessels with ensuing
cardiovascular collapse and shock.
RIB FRACTURE

Torn or punctured aorta. After a complete break in one of the first three ribs at the top of your
ribcage, the sharp end of a broken rib could rupture your aorta or another major blood vessel.
Punctured lung. The sharp end of a broken middle rib can puncture a lung and cause it to
collapse.
Lacerated speen, liver or kidneys. The bottom two ribs rarely fracture because they have more
flexibility than do the upper and middle ribs, which are anchored to the breastbone. But if you
break a lower rib, the broken ends can cause serious damage to your spleen, liver or kidneys.