The chest is a natural internal carapace designed to protect vital organs from damage, bruising or injury. The heart, lungs, pulmonary arteries and veins, thymus, bronchi, esophagus, and liver are hidden in the chest cavity. The respiratory muscles and muscles of the upper extremities are attached to it.
The structure of the human chest
Chest form:
- 12 pairs of arched ribs connected at the back to the thoracic spine, and at the front connected to the sternum using costal cartilage.
- The sternum is an unpaired bone that has an elongated shape. It is characterized by a bulge on the front surface and concavity on the back. It includes three parts: the handle, the body and the xiphoid process.
- The muscles.
The chest has flexibility, that is, it expands and contracts during breathing.
Types of chest
The size and shape of the chest are variable and can vary depending on the degree of development of the muscles and lungs. And the degree of development of the latter is closely related to the life of a person, his activity and profession. The shape of the chest normally has three types:
- flat;
- cylindrical;
- conical.
Flat chest
Often found in people with weak muscles and leading a passive lifestyle. It is long and flattened in the anteroposterior diameter, the anterior wall is almost vertical, the clavicles are clearly distinguished, the intercostal spaces are wide.
Conical chest shape
This wide and short chest shape is characteristic of people with a well-developed group of muscles of the shoulder girdle. Its lower part is wider than the upper. The inclination of the ribs and intercostal spaces are small.
Cylindrical chest
This form of the chest is normally found in low people. It is rounded, the same along its entire length. The horizontal arrangement of the ribs explains the fuzzy intercostal spaces. The pectoral angle is dull. People who play sports professionally have just this kind of chest shape.
Age and physiological features
Human chest forms vary significantly with age. The newborn children are characterized by a narrow and shortened form of a truncated pyramid. It is slightly compressed laterally. The transverse size is smaller than the anteroposterior. The growth of the child, teaching him to crawl and rise, the development of the musculoskeletal system and the growth of the insides leads to rapid growth of the chest. The shape of the chest in children in the third year of life becomes conical. At 6-7 years of age, growth slows down a bit, an increase in the angle of inclination of the ribs is observed. School children have more convex forms of the chest than adults, the inclination of the ribs is also less. Associated with this is the more frequent and shallow breathing of younger students. In boys, the chest begins to grow rapidly at 12, in girls - 11 years. In the period up to 18 years, the middle section of the chest changes most.
The shape of the chest in children is largely dependent on physical exercise and the position of the body during planting. Exercise and regular exercise will increase the volume and width of the chest. The expiratory form will be a consequence of weak muscles and poorly developed lungs. Improper fit, resting on the edge of the table, can lead to changes in the shape of the chest, which will negatively affect the development and function of the heart, lungs and large vessels.
The reduction in size, lowering and changing the shape of the chest in the elderly is associated with a decrease in the elasticity of the costal cartilage, frequent respiratory tract diseases and kyphoid curvature.
The male rib cage is larger than the female and has a more pronounced curvature of the rib in the corner. In women, the spiral-shaped twisting of the ribs is more pronounced. Due to this, a flatter form and the predominance of chest breathing are obtained. In men, the abdominal type of breathing, which is accompanied by a shift in the diaphragm.
Chest and its movements
The respiratory muscles play an active role in the process of inspiration and expiration.
Inhalation is carried out by reducing the diaphragm and the external intercostal muscles, which, lifting the ribs, slightly divert them to the sides, increasing the volume of the chest. Exhaling air is accompanied by relaxation of the respiratory muscles, lowering of the ribs, raising the dome of the diaphragm. The lungs in this process perform a passive function, following the moving walls.
Types of breathing
Depending on the age and development of the chest, there are:
- Diaphragmatic breathing. This is the name of the breath of newborns who do not yet have a good bending of the ribs, and they are in a horizontal position, intercostal muscles are weak.
- Breast-abdominal breathing with a predominance of diaphragmatic is observed in children in the second half of the first year of life, when the intercostal muscles begin to grow stronger, the ore cell begins to sink down.
- Breast breathing begins to prevail in children from 3 to 7 years of age, when the shoulder girdle is actively developing.
- After seven years, gender differences in breathing patterns appear. Abdominal will prevail in boys, chest - in girls.
Pathological forms of the chest
Pathologies are most often seen by patients. They can be congenital (associated with impaired bone development during pregnancy) and acquired (a consequence of injuries and diseases of the lungs, bones, and spine). Deformation and distortion, as a rule, reveals a simple examination of the chest. The form and its changes, asymmetry, respiratory rhythm disturbance allow an experienced doctor to announce a preliminary diagnosis. The shape of the chest becomes irregular under the influence of pathological processes in the organs of the chest cavity and with curvature of the spine. Pathological forms of the chest can be:
- Barrel-shaped. This deviation is found in people in whom the lung tissue has increased airiness, that is, its elasticity and strength are violated. This is accompanied by an increased air content in the alveoli. The barrel-shaped form of the chest has an expanded transverse and, especially, anteroposterior diameter, with horizontally located ribs and wide intercostal spaces.
- Paralytic. Such a chest looks flat and narrow. The clavicles are pronounced and asymmetrically located. The shoulder blades are clearly behind the chest, their location is multilevel and in the process of breathing they are shifted asynchronously. The location of the ribs is oblique down. Paralytic forms of the chest are found in emaciated people, in people with weak constitutional development, with severe chronic diseases, such as tuberculosis.
- Rickety. This form is also called keeled, or chicken. It is characterized by a significant increase in anteroposterior size, which is a consequence of rickets suffered in childhood. The keel-shaped form also arises as a result of a genetic deviation in the development of the skeletal system. Bulging can be significant or not very. The severity of the pathology affects the secondary symptoms of the disease that arise due to compression of the heart and lungs.
- Funnel-shaped. This type of pathology is expressed in a noticeable subsidence of certain zones: ribs, cartilage, sternum. The depth of the funnel can reach 8 cm. A pronounced funnel-like deformation is accompanied by a displacement of the heart, curvature of the spine, problems in lung function, and a change in arterial and venous pressure. In infants, the pathology is not noticeable, only with inhalation there is a slight sinking in the chest area. It becomes more pronounced as it grows.
- Scaphoid. Characteristic of this pathology is the presence of an elongated recess in the middle and upper part of the sternum. It develops in children suffering from diseases of the nervous system, in which motor functions and sensitivity are impaired. Severe deformity is accompanied by shortness of breath, rapid fatigue, intolerance to physical exertion, frequent heartbeat.
- Kyphoscoliotic. It develops against the background of diseases of the spine, namely the thoracic region, or is the result of traumatic injury.
Evolution has provided protection for the most important organs of the human body by the chest. There are organs in the chest cavity, without which we cannot survive for several minutes. A rigid bone frame not only protects, but also fixes them in a constant position, ensuring stable operation and our satisfactory condition.