The Cardiovascular and Respiratory System Flashcards
(99 cards)
Where is the thorax located?
The thorax is located between the neck (above) and the abdomen (below)
How many parts does the thorax have?
The thorax has two parts, the chest walls and the chest cavity.
What does the chest wall refer to?
It refers to anything that surrounds the chest cavity.
What is part of the chest wall?
The skeletal structures. So the midline breastbone, the ribs and posteriorly:
The thoracic vertebral column and also parts of the scapulae (shoulder blades)
In addition to skeletal structures, there are also muscles, tendons, ligaments. Soft tissues such as fat, which is known as fascia, superficial fascia and the overlying skin, so the soft tissues combined with the hard tissues are forming the chest wall.
What is the function of the chest wall:
Protect the heart and lungs - The soft and hard tissue
Make the movements of breathing - The joints and muscles
Breast tissue - lactation (lactare = to suckle)
What is the chest cavity?
It is the part of the thorax, within the chest walls and contains the visceral structures.
What does viscera mean?
Viscera means organ, any organ is referred to as a visceral structure.
What does the chest cavity contain?
Contains vital organs (also known as viscera)
Also contains major vessels and nerves
What are the largest visceral structures in the chest cavity?
The lungs and heart are the largest visceral structures in the chest walls
What are the skeletal structures/bones in the thorax?
There are 12 thoracic vertebraes from T1-T12
With each thoracic vertrebrae, there is an associated right and left rib.
Alongside this is the collarbone (clavicle)
And the shoulder blade, known as the scapula
How many total vertebrae are there in the adult vertebrae column?
There are 33 total vertebrae in the adult vertebral column.
What are the vertebrae of the adult vertebrae column?
There are 33 Vertebrae:
7 Cervical (C1-C7)
12 Thoracic
5 Lumber (L1-L5)
5 Sacral (Fused to form 1 Sacrum)
4 Coccygeal (Fused to form 1 coccyx).
What shape does the column have when viewed from the side?
The column has an ‘S’ shape when viewed from the side, composed of primary curvatures, with an anterior cavity.
There also is secondary curves in the neck, lumbar and cervical region.
What are the parts of the Thoracic Vertebra?
A thoracic vertebra can be divided into two parts.
A front body known as a vertebral body and the vertebral arch.
It also contains several ‘processes’:
What is the function of the front body/vertebral body?
the front body is about transmitting weight (weight distribution).
What does the vertebral arch contain and what is the function of the vertebral arch?
The vertebral arch has a pedicle, which connects the vertebral body to the arch, it is a connecting bar bone, and also a Lamina, which connects the processes to the arch.
What processes are contained in the thoracic vertebra
Transverse process, Spinous process, Inferior and superior articular processes.
What is the function of the transverse process?
it is located in the transverse plane and involved in ligament muscle attachment and rib articulations.
What is the function of the spinous process
The spinous process is involved in ligament and muscle attachment
What is the function of the Inferior and superior articular processes?
It is involved in the articulation for the vertebrae that sits above and the vertebrae that sits below.
How many pairs of ribs are there?
There are twelve pairs of ribs, for every pair of rib there is a thoracic vertebrae.
What can ribs be classified as?
Ribs can be classified as being typical or atypical.
What are the characteristics of typical ribs?
Typical ribs have typical features - they tend to look the same and have the same anatomical features.
Typical ribs
- have a head with 2 facets (articulations)
- A tubercle, which is a lump/bump of bone with a articulating facet (grey areas show articulating points)
- Between head and tubercle is a short neck
- Shaft or body that extends all the way anteriorly
- At the anterior end of the rib, the rib will articulate with the sternum via the costal cartillage or the costal margin.
- Round the shaft, there is a lateral element known as the angle of the rib, where the rib changes direction.
- A cross section of the rib shows a costal groove contains a neurovascular bundle
- a neurovascular bundle is a bundle of tissues that contains an artery, a nerve, and a vein.
- In line, sitting within the costal groove, we would have a nerve, an artery in a vein.
What the characteristics of atypical rib 1?
- Very short and broad, with a sharp curve
- Least likely to fracture due to its short, broad morphology.
- Tucked right next to clavicle to very protected and very unlikely to fracture.
- Superior surface of rib one contains a scalene tubercle between two channelled out grooves.
- the scalene tubercle marks the point of which one of the neck muscles called a scalenus anterior muscle attaches to rib one.
- The bump formed results from the muscle being attached at the scaling tubercle
- The bump is called the scarring typical
- on either side of the scalene tubercle we have a groove caused by vessels
- The grove anterior to the scalene tubercle is for the subclavian vein
- The groove behind, posterior to the scalene tubercle is for the subclavian artery.
Rib 1 also has a shaft/body, a small tubercle, a neck and a head with only 1 facet.