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Review
. 2015 Mar;3(4):53.
doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2305-5839.2015.03.23.

Pneumothorax: an up to date "introduction"

Antonios Papagiannis  1 , George Lazaridis  1 , Konstantinos Zarogoulidis  1 , Antonis Papaiwannou  1 , Anastasia Karavergou  1 , Sofia Lampaki  1 , Sofia Baka  1 , Ioannis Mpoukovinas  1 , Vasilis Karavasilis  1 , Ioannis Kioumis  1 , Georgia Pitsiou  1 , Nikolaos Katsikogiannis  1 , Kosmas Tsakiridis  1 , Aggeliki Rapti  1 , Georgia Trakada  1 , Ilias Karapantzos  1 , Chrysanthi Karapantzou  1 , Athanasios Zissimopoulos  1 , Paul Zarogoulidis  1
Affiliations
Review

Pneumothorax: an up to date "introduction"

Antonios Papagiannis et al. Ann Transl Med. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

The pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air or gas in the pleural space that separates the lung from the chest wall. Like pleural effusion where a large abnormal concentration of fluid (>100 mL) is liquid buildup in that space, pneumothorax may interfere with normal breathing. A medical term that it is used is the collapsed lung, although that term may also refer to atelectasis. There are two major types of pneumothorax; there is one that occurs without an apparent cause and in the absence of significant lung disease, while the so called; "secondary" pneumothorax occurs in the presence of existing lung pathology. In a minority of cases, the amount of air in the chest increases markedly when a one-way valve is formed by an area of damaged tissue, leading to a third type of pneumothorax, called "tensioned".

Keywords: Pneumothorax; iatrogenic pneumothorax; spontaneous pneumothorax; traumatic pneumothorax.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Apparatus for induction of artificial pneumothorax, Birmingham, England, 1920-1940. Available online: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=5956
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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