Chest Injuries After a Car Accident

What Is the Structure and Function of Your Chest?

Your chest, scientifically known as your thorax, sits between your head and abdomen. Specifically, it starts at your shoulders and runs down to your diaphragm. Your neck separates your head from your thorax, and your diaphragm separates your thorax from your abdomen.

Your chest protects your chest cavity. Your chest cavity contains vital organs like your heart and lungs. It also contains the major blood vessels leading in and out of your heart. Finally, your esophagus, trachea, and major airways pass through your chest.

To protect these important structures, your chest is surrounded by your ribcage. You have 12 pairs of ribs in your rib cage. At the top of your chest, you have seven pairs of true ribs. Ligaments hold your true ribs to your spine, and cartilage holds your true ribs to your sternum.

Below your true ribs, you have three pairs of false ribs. Ligaments hold the false ribs to your spine, but rather than attaching to your sternum, the false ribs attach to the true ribs with cartilage.

Doctors refer to the lowest two pairs of ribs as floating ribs. Again, ligaments hold the floating ribs to your spine, but their other ends don’t attach to anything. Instead, they float loose at the bottom of your chest.

Muscles play a critical role in your chest. In addition to giving your chest the strength to hold up your body, your chest muscles expand your chest so you can breathe. Your lungs do not have the strength to expand your chest — they must rely on your chest muscles to fill up with air.