S25: Injury of blood vessels of thorax

S25.1: Injury of innominate or subclavian artery

Several blood vessels run through the ribcage. For example, there are blood vessels for the heart and lungs, and the head and arms.

Arteries are blood vessels that transport blood away from the heart. They supply all the tissue in the body with oxygen-rich blood. In certain places in the body you can feel your arteries. You can then feel how fast your pulse is. From the aorta, blood vessels keep branching off that supply the different parts of the body with blood. You can imagine this like a tree in which the branches get thinner and thinner towards the top.

The aorta is the thickest blood vessel in the body. Above the heart, multiple large blood vessels leave the aorta. These blood vessels go to the head and arms. You have damaged one or more large blood vessels for the head and arms.

When a blood vessel is damaged, there is usually bleeding. Arteries can bleed very heavily. You can then lose a lot of blood very quickly. If the bleeding is heavy, blood may collect in the tissue. There may then be some pain. When there is bleeding below the skin, a bruise sometimes forms.