Question

Barbara Joley was in -a major car accident. When EMS managed to free her from the wreckage, she was cyanotic and apneic (not breathing). Her heart was still beating, but her pulse was fast and thready. The emergency medical technician reported that when Barbara was found, her head was cocked at a peculiar angle and it looked like she had a fracture at the level of the C2 vertebra. The following questions refer to these observation

1.What is pneumothorax and why would it cause the right Lung to collapse? Why hasn't the left Lung collapsed?

2.Barbara's cyanosis can best be explained by which of the following?

a. Trauma has caused bleeding under the skin, and the accumulated blood is turning black and blue.

b. Her lungs must be damaged, and as a result, the right side of her heart is sending blood to the body instead of the lungs.

c. The level of C02 in her blood has increased because her breathing has stopped.

d. The level of O2 in her blood has decreased because her breathing has stopped.

3. How do Barbara's recorded injuries relate to the pneumothorax?

a. The pain from her broken ribs is causing her to decrease breathing, so the right Jung is not inflating.

b. Barbara's fractured ribs probably punctured her Jung tissue and allowed air within the Jung to enter the pleural cavity.

c. When the level of 0 2 in the blood decreases, a negative feedback loop involving the central chemoreceptors causes Jung inflation to decrease as well.

d. Her traumatic injury has caused her peripheral chemoreceptors to stop working, so they are not causing her to increase ventilation.

4.The physician inserts a chest tube into the right intrapleural cavity and hooks it up to suction. How might this alleviate the pneumothorax?

Answer 1

Ans:

1.The presence of air around the pleural space or when air leaks into space between lung and chest wall.

Lung collapse occurs in which side is more affected, sometimes pneumothorax can collpase left lung also,compare with right lung left lung have small space because of heart occupies the space.

Barbra may met directly trauma to the right side chest.traumatic pneumothorax can occur in a car crash.

2. d) level of O2 in her blood decreased because her breathing has stopped.

Bluish discoloration in the skin because of the reduced oxygen ammount in the blood.

3.b) Barbara's fractured ribs probably puncture her jung tissue and allowed air without in the jung to enter the pleural cavity.

4.The chest tube will be placed Between the rib(4th to 5th intercostal space) into the space arround the lungs helps to drain the air via chest tube and allow the the lung to re- expand.

A chest tube is flexible plastic tube used to remove air, fluid,such as blood,pus,chyle and the gravity allow it to drain.making breathing easier.