Thorax and breathing

Question 1

What does the thorax include

Answer 1

Sternum​
Costal cartilages​
Ribs​
Thoracic vertebrae​
Structures they enclose​

Question 2

Why do we have a thorax

Answer 2

Breathing

Question 3

What are the two openings of the thorax

Answer 3

Inferior thoracic aperture
Superior thoracic aperture

Question 4

Where is the superior thoracic aperture

Answer 4

At root of neck and in continuity with the neck

Question 5

What are the three compartments of the thorax

Answer 5

Mediastinum
Right and left pleural cavities

Question 6

What closes the inferior thoracic aperture

Answer 6

Diaphragm

Question 7

What is the pectoral girdle

Answer 7

Bones which connect to the arm on each side

Question 8

What are the false ribs

Answer 8

Ribs 8,9,10 - hook onto cartilage and then join to sternum (not directly attached)

Question 9

Why are false ribs more prone to trauma/fracture

Answer 9

Don’t adjoin to intercostal cartilages

Question 10

What is the first branch of the aorta

Answer 10

Pulmonary arteries

Question 11

What is the structure of the diaphragm

Answer 11

Musculotendinous structure​

Muscle fibres arise radially from the costal margins and converge to insert into the central tendon​

Muscle ‘dome-shaped’ on each side but is higher on the right than the left, due to the position of the liver beneath​

Question 12

What muscle is present in the diapragm

Answer 12

Skeletal

Question 13

What fibres does the phrenic nerve contain

Answer 13

Motor and sensory fibres

Question 14

What is the costodiaphragmatic recess

Answer 14

A larger of recesses found between the costal and diaphragmatic pleura of right and left pleural cavities. Provide space for the lungs to fill, but also fluid can accumulate in these.​

Question 15

What is the space between the ribs

Answer 15

Intercostal space

Question 16

What are floating ribs

Answer 16

11,12
These are short ribs that do not attach to the sternum at all.
Instead, their small costal
cartilages terminate within the musculature of the lateral abdominal wall.​

Question 17

Where are the intervertebral discs

Answer 17

Lies between adjacent vertebrae

Question 18

What is the costochondral joint

Answer 18

Connection between the costal cartilage and the ribs

Question 19

What can be used for chest drain insertion

Answer 19

Sternal angle (equates to where
the second rib is) useful
for counting ribs inferiorly and laterally

Question 20

What is the pectoral girdle

Answer 20

Bones which connect to the arm on each side – this is the clavicle (collar bone) and the scapula (shoulder blade)

Question 21

What is the superior limit of the thorax

Answer 21

1st thoracic vertebra
1st rib
Manubrium of sternum

Question 22

What forms the inferior limit of the sternum

Answer 22

Diaphragm

Question 23

What is the mediastinum

Answer 23

Central component of the thoracic cavity, surrounded by the left and right pleural sacs

Question 24

What supplies the left side of the head and neck

Answer 24

Left common carotid artery

Question 25

What are the sections of the inferior mediastinum

Answer 25

Anterior Middle Posterior

Question 26

What does each section of the inferior mediastinum contain

Answer 26

Anterior (fat and thymus)​ Middle (heart)​ Posterior (aorta, oesophagus)​

Question 27

Where do the superior and inferior vena cava enter the heart

Answer 27

Right atrium

Question 28

What vessel supplies 80% of brain blood supply

Answer 28

Internal carotid artery

Question 29

What vessel supplies the 20% of the brains blood supply

Answer 29

Vertebral artery

Question 30

What are the first main branches of the aorta

Answer 30

Coronary arteries

Question 31

When clinically examining the lungs, it is so important to listen to the back of the chest. Why?

Answer 31

The inferior lobe (where pathologies commonly affect) of each long is located posteriorly

Question 32

What chamber of the heart does the pulmonary artery come from

Answer 32

Right ventricle

Question 33

Where do the pulmonary veins drain to

Answer 33

Left atrium

Question 34

What is the purpose of the conchae

Answer 34

Increase surface area for air to be moisturised and warmed

Question 35

If the conchae became swollen due to infection what are the consequences

Answer 35

Blockage of the nose/nasal cavity which could lead to a deviated septum and reduced air flow.

Question 36

What links the thyroid and cricoid cartilages

Answer 36

Cricothyroid membrane

Question 37

What is unique about the tracheal rings

Answer 37

Incomplete C shaped rings

Question 38

What type of epithelium exists in the trachea

Answer 38

Ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium with goblet cells

Question 39

What is the mucociliary escalator

Answer 39

The beating of cilia to move mucous superiorly towards the oropharynx for expulsion, or to the stomach for destruction

Question 40

What nerves supply the pharynx

Answer 40

CN IX, X and sometimes XI

Question 41

If the nerves supplying the pharynx were paralysed how can this be cofirmed

Answer 41

Ask patient to say aghhh - uvula has same nervous supply

Question 42

At what level of the neck does the larynx sit in relation to the cervical vertebrae

Answer 42

C3-6

Question 43

What is a tracheostomy

Answer 43

Insertion of a tube into the trachea for ventilation

Question 44

Where would a tracheostomy tube be placed

Answer 44

2nd-5th tracheal space

Question 45

Why would a tracheostomy be performed

Answer 45

Failed endotracheal intubation, long term mechanical ventilation required

Question 46

What are the possible complications of a tracheostomy

Answer 46

Stenosis, failure, infection, slippage out of site

Question 47

What does the hilum connect

Answer 47

The lungs to the mediastinum

Question 48

What are the black nodules that can be found on the hilum

Answer 48

Lymph nodes

Question 49

What covers/surrounds the lungs in the living

Answer 49

Pleura (parietal/visceral)

Question 50

How can the right and left bronchi be differentiated

Answer 50

Right bronchus is more vertical and shorter

Question 51

What are the next two divisions that occur after the primary bronchi

Answer 51

Lobar and segmental bronchi

Question 52

Where do the maxillary sinuses open into the nasal cavity

Answer 52

Posterior end of hiatus semilunaris

Question 53

Why is the design of the maxillary sinuses not ideal

Answer 53

It's opening is high up on its medial wall meaning there is a potential large space to be filled before drainage

Question 54

What is an oro-antral fistula

Answer 54

Abnormal communication between the oral cavity and the maxillary antrum

Question 55

What teeth are most likely to cause an oro-antral fistula when extracted

Answer 55

Pre-molars and molars

Question 56

What cartilage are the vocal folds attached to

Answer 56

Thyroid cartilage

Question 57

What hormone is the thyroid cartilage under the influence of during adolescence

Answer 57

Testosterone

Question 58

What is the purpose of the larynx

Answer 58

Altering pitch and volume of speech