263.Post-traumatic hemothorax

Mild to severe restrictive ventilatory defects are the hallmark of pulmonary function compromise from fibrothorax.  Treatment consists of decortication, with surgical removal of the fibrous peel from the visceral pleura.  Functional lung recovery is dependent upon the amount of underlying parenchymal disease.  If there is minimal to no underlying parenchymal disease, decortication results in significant recovery of lung function.  However, if there is concomitant parenchymal fibrosis, little functional recovery will occur despite decortication.  Interestingly, even decortication in those patients with long-standing fibrothorax of 20-40 years duration may prove beneficial in the absence of parenchymal fibrosis.  Generalized fibrothorax encasing the affected lung complicates <1% of hemothoraces.

Notes:

1. hemothorax [ˌhi:mə'θɒræks] n. 血胸，胸腔积血

2. ventilatory ['ventələˌtɒrɪ] adj. 通风的，通气的

3. hallmark [ˈhɔ:lmɑ:rk] n. 检验印记; 特点，标志; 质量证明; vt.

4. decortication [dɪkɔ:tɪ'keɪʃn] 脱皮; 去皮质术

5. visceral [ˈvɪsərəl] adj. 内脏的

6. pleura [ˈplʊrə] n. 胸膜

7. parenchymal [pə'rəŋkəməl] 实质的，主质的，薄壁组织的

8. fibrothorax [faɪbrʌ'ðɔ:ræks] 纤维胸

来源：每天朗读一段医学影像学英语文章