Hemothorax

The accumulation of blood in the pleural cavity is called hemothorax, and those who accumulate blood and air are called blood pneumothorax. Hemothorax is common in chest trauma patients. Bleeding can come from intercostal vessels, intrathoracic vessels, pulmonary lacerations, or trauma to the heart and large chest vessels. The number of hemothoraxes depends on the size of the vascular breach, the level of blood pressure, and the duration of the bleeding. Most of the bleeding in the lung tissue is caused by puncture of the ribs and lungs with a fractured rib. Because the ruptured blood vessels are small and the blood pressure in the pulmonary circulation is low, the bleeding site can often be closed by a blood clot and stop by itself. Generally, the amount of bleeding is small. Intercostal artery or internal thoracic artery rupture, due to high blood pressure in the systemic circulation, bleeding is not easy to stop on its own, and the amount of bleeding is large. Large blood vessels in the heart or chest, such as the aorta and its branches, rupture of the superior, inferior vena cava, and pulmonary arteriovenous veins, cause heavy bleeding and severe injuries. Patients often die from shock due to large blood loss in a short period of time.