Classification and treatment of pneumothorax

Abstract

Pneumothorax (from the greek words: πνευμο=air, θώραξ=thorax), the abnormal presence of air in the pleural cavity consists one of the most intriguing problems in the everyday practice of medicine. This is the case for three reasons: i) it can suddenly affect practically everybody, including young, healthy individuals, ii) it poses a direct threat to the patient's life, iii) it can often go unnoticed for a varied period of time before the right diagnosis is set and the proper therapeutic measures are undertaken. In this chapter we are going to analyze important features of this entity based on data from international literature and on our own personal experience. © 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.