Barbara Joley was in a major car accident. When EMS managed…
Barbara Joley was in a major car accident. When EMS managed to free her from the wreckage, she was cyanotic and apneic (not breathing). Her heart was still beating, but her pulse was fast and thready. The emergency medical technician reported that when Barbara was found, her head was cocked at a peculiar angle and it looked like she had a fracture at the level of the C2 vertebra. Barbara was artificially ventilated and survived transport to the hospital. The admission notes included the following observations. Right thorax compressed; ribs 7 to 9 fractured Right lung pneumothorax; trachea deviation (shift) to the left The following questions refer to these observations. 1) Barbara’s cyanosis can best be explained by: 2) The pneumothorax was caused by: 3) The left lung did not collapse because: 4) The physician inserts a chest tube into the right intrapleural cavity and hooks it up to suction. This alleviates the pneumothorax by: