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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

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.

Start Here

• Introduction to Chest Injuries (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• CAT Scan (CT) - Chest (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Chest X-Ray (Radiography) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Tests for Lung Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

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

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

• Chest Wall Disorder: Pectus Excavatum (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Costochondritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Mediastinal Masses (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Mediastinitis (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• 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: Ultra minimally invasive surgical stabilization of Rib fractures (uMI-SSRF): reduction and...
• Article: Efficacy of an mHealth intervention to support pain self-management and improve...
• Article: Thoracic trauma in the geriatric population and possible preventive measures: a...
• Chest Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• Chest Wall Disorder: Pectus Carinatum Also in Spanish
• Costochondritis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Pectus excavatum repair - series (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