Thorax

Question 1

The thorax is a region of the trunk, what does it include?

Answer 1

• Sternum
• Costal cartilages (bars of hyaline cartilage connected to the ribs
• Ribs
• Thoracic vertebrae
• Structures they enclose

Question 2

What shape is the thorax?

Answer 2

Cone shaped

Question 3

What is the superior thoracic aperture?

Answer 3

• The upper chest opening

- At the root of the neck and in continuity with the neck

Question 4

What is the inferior thoracic aperture?

Answer 4

• The skeletal muscle at the bottom of the thorax

- Also known as the thoracic outlet which is closed by the diaphragm

Question 5

What are the 3 compartments of the thorax?

Answer 5

• Right pleural cavity
• Left pleural cavity
• Mediastinum

Question 6

What is the jugular notch?

Answer 6

A notch on the manubrium

Question 7

What are the great vessels located in the thorax?

Answer 7

• Venae cava
• Pulmonary trunk and main branches
• Pulmonary veins
• Aorta

Question 8

What is the first branch of the aorta?

Answer 8

Coronary arteries

Question 9

What vessels come off of the arch of the aorta?

Answer 9

2 on left side which are the left common carotid and the left subclavian

1 on the right side which is called the brachiocephalic trunk, which splits into 2: the right common carotid and the right subclavian

Question 10

The internal carotid artery supplies what % of blood to the brain?

Answer 10

80%

Question 11

What is the function of the pulmonary trunk?

Answer 11

Takes deoxygenated blood back to the lungs

Question 12

Where does the inferior vena cava drain blood from?

Answer 12

Everywhere below the level of the heart

Question 13

Where does the superior vena cava drain blood from?

Answer 13

Everywhere above the level of the heart

Question 14

What do the R and L pulmonary veins take blood to?

Answer 14

Take oxygenated blood back to the heart

Question 15

Where does the internal jugular vein drain blood from?

Answer 15

Drains facial structures and the brain

Question 16

The diaphragm is a musculotendinous structure. What does this mean?

Answer 16

It is made of muscles and tendons

Question 17

In the diaphragm, muscle fibres arise radially from the costal margins and converge to inset into the central tendon. What are the costal margins and the central tendon?

Answer 17

Costal margins - Cartilage along the edge of the 8th through to the 10th ribs in the middle of the chest. Marks the lower region of the chest and the location of the diaphragm

Central tendon - a broad connective tissue sheet that forms the diaphragm. It is composed of interlacing fibres that arise from the lumbar vertebrae, the costal margin and the xiphoid process of the sternum

Question 18

The muscle of the diaphragm is ‘dome-shaped’ on each side but is higher on the right than the left. Why?

Answer 18

Due to the position of the liver beneath

Question 19

What kind of muscle is the diaphragm?

Answer 19

Skeletal muscle under voluntary and involuntary control

Question 20

Which nerve is the diaphragm supplied by?

Answer 20

The phrenic nerve - Cervical 3,4 and 5

Question 21

What is referred pain?

Answer 21

Pathology in one part of the body but pain is shown in another part of the body

Question 22

What types of fibres does the phrenic nerve contain?

Answer 22

• Motor and sensory

Question 23

What happens to the shape of the diaphragm on inspiration and expiration?

Answer 23

• On inspiration, the muscle flattens to increase the capacity of the thoracic cavity
• On expiration, the diaphragm returns to its ‘dome-shape’