pneumothorax

Term: pneumothorax

Origin: Anc Greek

πνεύμον/pneumon(=lung) >

πνέω/pneo(=blow)

 + θώραξ/thorax(=thorax)

Coined:

Spontaneous pneumothorax has long been associated with pulmonary tuberculosis and was coined in 1803, by Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, (1774-1838)

Definition

Pneumonothorax is a collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity of the chest between the lung and the chest wall resulting in collapse of the lung on the affected side. It may occur spontaneously as well as a result of underlying lung diseases(eg cystic fibrosis, (COPD), lung cancer, asthma chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ), after an open chest wound that permits the entrance of air,  or as a complication of medical treatment.

a student of René Laennec the inventor of stethoscope. Laennec himself described systematically the  clinical picture in 1819.