[ANSWER]GMED3009 Assessment 1: Traumatic Tension Pneumothorax Case Study

[ANSWER PREVIEW]This pressure gradient prevents lung collapse that may occur due to natural lung and chest wall movements Pneumothorax Case Study.

The pathophysiology of traumatic pneumothorax involves the accumulation of air in the chest following trauma, specifically within the pleural space; that is, between the visceral pleura and the parietal pleura Pneumothorax Case Study (Littlejohn, 2017). The air is trapped in the thoracic cavity, but remains outside the lungs. This exerts additional pressure on the lungs, resulting in lung collapse. Physiologically speaking, intrapleural pressure has a negative gradient relative to lung and atmospheric pressure (Littlejohn, 2017).

This pressure gradient prevents lung collapse that may occur due to natural lung and chest wall movements Pneumothorax Case Study. During the occurrence of a pneumothorax, the accumulation of air in the pleural space reduces the natural pressure gradient, causing intrapleural pressure to rise.

Ultimately, these physiological processes manifest in chest pain, dyspnoea, tachypnoea, reduced or absence of breath sounds, hypotension, tachycardia, hypoxemia, and decreased level of consciousness (Bruns & Diaz, 2015; Idris & Hefny, 2016; Roberts et al., 2015). Mark has most of these symptoms.   There are various types of pneumothoraxes and one type is where lung collapse occurs together with mediastinal shifts. This type of pneumothorax is known as tension pneumothorax (Roberts et al., 2014) and is the focus…[Buy Full Answer for Just USD 9: 1906 WORDS]

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Word Count: 1906

Grade/Mark: 96 (Distinction)

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