Thorax

The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals located between the neck and the abdomen. The thorax includes the thoracic cavity and the thoracic wall. It contains organs including the heart, lungs, and thymus gland, as well as muscles and various other internal structures. Many diseases may affect the chest, and one of the most common symptoms is chest pain. The word thorax comes from the Greek θώραξ thorax 'breastplate, cuirass, corslet' via Latin: thorax.Volume rendering of a high resolution computed tomography of the thorax. The anterior thoracic wall, the airways and the pulmonary vessels anterior to the root of the lung have been digitally removed in order to visualize the different levels of the pulmonary circulation.Thorax. Anterior view.Thorax. Anterior view. The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals located between the neck and the abdomen. The thorax includes the thoracic cavity and the thoracic wall. It contains organs including the heart, lungs, and thymus gland, as well as muscles and various other internal structures. Many diseases may affect the chest, and one of the most common symptoms is chest pain. The word thorax comes from the Greek θώραξ thorax 'breastplate, cuirass, corslet' via Latin: thorax. In humans and other hominids, the thorax is the chest region of the body between the neck and the abdomen, along with its internal organs and other contents. It is mostly protected and supported by the rib cage, spine, and shoulder girdle. The contents of the thorax include the heart and lungs (and the thymus gland); the (major and minor pectoral muscles, trapezius muscles, and neck muscle); and internal structures such as the diaphragm, the esophagus, the trachea, and a part of the sternum known as the xiphoid process). Arteries and veins are also contained – (aorta, superior vena cava, inferior vena cava and the pulmonary artery); bones (the shoulder socket containing the upper part of the humerus, the scapula, sternum, thoracic portion of the spine, collarbone, and the rib cage and floating ribs). External structures are the skin and nipples. In the human body, the region of the thorax between the neck and diaphragm in the front of the body is called the chest. The corresponding area in an animal can also be referred to as the chest. The shape of the chest does not correspond to that part of the thoracic skeleton that encloses the heart and lungs. All the breadth of the shoulders is due to the shoulder girdle, and contains the axillae and the heads of the humeri. In the middle line the suprasternal notch is seen above, while about three fingers' breadth below it a transverse ridge can be felt, which is known as the sternal angle and this marks the junction between the manubrium and body of the sternum. Level with this line the second ribs join the sternum, and when these are found the lower ribs can often be counted. At the lower part of the sternum, where the seventh or last true ribs join it, the ensiform cartilage begins, and above this there is often a depression known as the pit of the stomach. The bones of the thorax, called the 'thoracic skeleton' is a component of the axial skeleton. It consists of the ribs and sternum.The ribs of the thorax are numbered in ascending order from 1-12. 11 & 12 are known as floating ribs because they have no anterior attachment point in particular the cartilage attached to the sternum, as 1-7 are, and therefore are termed 'floating'. Whereas ribs 8-10 are termed false ribs as their costal cartilage articulates with the costal cartilage of the rib above. The anatomy of the chest can also be described through the use of anatomical landmarks. The nipple in the male is situated in front of the fourth rib or a little below; vertically it lies a little external to a line drawn down from the middle of the clavicle; in the female it is not so constant. A little below it the lower limit of the great pectoral muscle is seen running upward and outward to the axilla; in the female this is obscured by the breast, which extends from the second to the sixth rib vertically and from the edge of the sternum to the mid-axillary line laterally. The female nipple is surrounded for half an inch by a more or less pigmented disc, the areola. The apex of a normal heart is in the fifth left intercostal space, three and a half inches from the mid-line.