Making an incision in the STERNUM.

A set of twelve curved bones which connect to the vertebral column posteriorly, and terminate anteriorly as costal cartilage. Together, they form a protective cage around the internal thoracic organs.

The upper or most anterior segment of the STERNUM which articulates with the CLAVICLE and first two pairs of RIBS.

A developmental anomaly in which the lower sternum is posteriorly dislocated and concavely deformed, resulting in a funnel-shaped thorax.

Pathologic process consisting of a partial or complete disruption of the layers of a surgical wound.

Methods to repair breaks in tissue caused by trauma or to close surgical incisions.

Inflammation of the mediastinum, the area between the pleural sacs.

The application of a vacuum across the surface of a wound through a foam dressing cut to fit the wound. This removes wound exudates, reduces build-up of inflammatory mediators, and increases the flow of nutrients to the wound thus promoting healing.

The outer margins of the thorax containing SKIN, deep FASCIA; THORACIC VERTEBRAE; RIBS; STERNUM; and MUSCLES.

A non-vascular form of connective tissue composed of CHONDROCYTES embedded in a matrix that includes CHONDROITIN SULFATE and various types of FIBRILLAR COLLAGEN. There are three major types: HYALINE CARTILAGE; FIBROCARTILAGE; and ELASTIC CARTILAGE.

An order of BIRDS including over 300 species that primarily inhabit coastal waters, beaches, and marshes. They are comprised of shorebirds, gulls, and terns.

Tuberculosis of the bones or joints.

A double gliding joint formed by the CLAVICLE, superior and lateral parts of the manubrium sterni at the clavicular notch, and the cartilage of the first rib.

The part of the face above the eyes.

The upper part of the trunk between the NECK and the ABDOMEN. It contains the chief organs of the circulatory and respiratory systems. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

A slowly growing malignant neoplasm derived from cartilage cells, occurring most frequently in pelvic bones or near the ends of long bones, in middle-aged and old people. Most chondrosarcomas arise de novo, but some may develop in a preexisting benign cartilaginous lesion or in patients with ENCHONDROMATOSIS. (Stedman, 25th ed)

Steel wires, often threaded through the skin, soft tissues, and bone, used to fix broken bones. Kirschner wires or apparatus also includes the application of traction to the healing bones through the wires.

The pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles that make up the upper and fore part of the chest in front of the AXILLA.

A long flat muscle that extends along the whole length of both sides of the abdomen. It flexes the vertebral column, particularly the lumbar portion; it also tenses the anterior abdominal wall and assists in compressing the abdominal contents. It is frequently the site of hematomas. In reconstructive surgery it is often used for the creation of myocutaneous flaps. (From Gray's Anatomy, 30th American ed, p491)

Infection occurring at the site of a surgical incision.

Respiratory muscles that arise from the lower border of one rib and insert into the upper border of the adjoining rib, and contract during inspiration or respiration. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

Surgical removal of ribs, allowing the chest wall to move inward and collapse a diseased lung. (Dorland, 28th ed)

The developmental entity of a fertilized chicken egg (ZYGOTE). The developmental process begins about 24 h before the egg is laid at the BLASTODISC, a small whitish spot on the surface of the EGG YOLK. After 21 days of incubation, the embryo is fully developed before hatching.

The largest of three bones that make up each half of the pelvic girdle.

Surgery performed on the heart.

Moving a patient into a specific position or POSTURE to facilitate examination, surgery, or for therapeutic purposes.

Tongues of skin and subcutaneous tissue, sometimes including muscle, cut away from the underlying parts but often still attached at one end. They retain their own microvasculature which is also transferred to the new site. They are often used in plastic surgery for filling a defect in a neighboring region.

A fibril-associated collagen usually found crosslinked to the surface of COLLAGEN TYPE II fibrils. It is a heterotrimer containing alpha1(IX), alpha2(IX) and alpha3(IX) subunits.

Any woven or knit material of open texture used in surgery for the repair, reconstruction, or substitution of tissue. The mesh is usually a synthetic fabric made of various polymers. It is occasionally made of metal.

Procedures used to reconstruct, restore, or improve defective, damaged, or missing structures.

Injection of BONE CEMENTS into bone to treat bone lesions.

Disease-related laceration or tearing of tissues of the heart, including the free-wall MYOCARDIUM; HEART SEPTUM; PAPILLARY MUSCLES; CHORDAE TENDINEAE; and any of the HEART VALVES. Pathological rupture usually results from myocardial infarction (HEART RUPTURE, POST-INFARCTION).

The removal of foreign material and devitalized or contaminated tissue from or adjacent to a traumatic or infected lesion until surrounding healthy tissue is exposed. (Dorland, 27th ed)

Enzymes which catalyze the elimination of delta-4,5-D-glucuronate residues from polysaccharides containing 1,4-beta-hexosaminyl and 1,3-beta-D-glucuronosyl or 1,3-alpha-L-iduronosyl linkages thereby bringing about depolymerization. EC 4.2.2.4 acts on chondroitin sulfate A and C as well as on dermatan sulfate and slowly on hyaluronate. EC 4.2.2.5 acts on chondroitin sulfate A and C.

A specialized CONNECTIVE TISSUE that is the main constituent of the SKELETON. The principle cellular component of bone is comprised of OSTEOBLASTS; OSTEOCYTES; and OSTEOCLASTS, while FIBRILLAR COLLAGENS and hydroxyapatite crystals form the BONE MATRIX.

Tumors or cancer located in bone tissue or specific BONES.

Implantable fracture fixation devices attached to bone fragments with screws to bridge the fracture gap and shield the fracture site from stress as bone heals. (UMDNS, 1999)

Deformities of the SPINE characterized by an exaggerated convexity of the vertebral column. The forward bending of the thoracic region usually is more than 40 degrees. This deformity sometimes is called round back or hunchback.

Surgical incision into the chest wall.

Tomography using x-ray transmission and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image.

A non-fibrillar collagen found primarily in terminally differentiated hypertrophic CHONDROCYTES. It is a homotrimer of three identical alpha1(X) subunits.

A group of twelve VERTEBRAE connected to the ribs that support the upper trunk region.

The spinal or vertebral column.

Polymerized methyl methacrylate monomers which are used as sheets, moulding, extrusion powders, surface coating resins, emulsion polymers, fibers, inks, and films (From International Labor Organization, 1983). This material is also used in tooth implants, bone cements, and hard corneal contact lenses.

A long, narrow, and flat bone commonly known as BREASTBONE occurring in the midsection of the anterior thoracic segment or chest region, which stabilizes the rib cage and serves as the point of origin for several muscles that move the arms, head, and neck.

A repeat operation for the same condition in the same patient due to disease progression or recurrence, or as followup to failed previous surgery.

Techniques for securing together the edges of a wound, with loops of thread or similar materials (SUTURES).

Methods of creating machines and devices.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Forcible or traumatic tear or break of an organ or other soft part of the body.

Inorganic salts of sulfuric acid.

Breaks in bones.

Damage to any compartment of the lung caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents which characteristically elicit inflammatory reaction. These inflammatory reactions can either be acute and dominated by NEUTROPHILS, or chronic and dominated by LYMPHOCYTES and MACROPHAGES.

A polypeptide substance comprising about one third of the total protein in mammalian organisms. It is the main constituent of SKIN; CONNECTIVE TISSUE; and the organic substance of bones (BONE AND BONES) and teeth (TOOTH).

Restoration of integrity to traumatized tissue.

Any compound that contains a constituent sugar, in which the hydroxyl group attached to the first carbon is substituted by an alcoholic, phenolic, or other group. They are named specifically for the sugar contained, such as glucoside (glucose), pentoside (pentose), fructoside (fructose), etc. Upon hydrolysis, a sugar and nonsugar component (aglycone) are formed. (From Dorland, 28th ed; From Miall's Dictionary of Chemistry, 5th ed)

The process of bone formation. Histogenesis of bone including ossification.

Not an aneurysm but a well-defined collection of blood and CONNECTIVE TISSUE outside the wall of a blood vessel or the heart. It is the containment of a ruptured blood vessel or heart, such as sealing a rupture of the left ventricle. False aneurysm is formed by organized THROMBUS and HEMATOMA in surrounding tissue.

Morphological and physiological development of EMBRYOS or FETUSES.

Polymorphic cells that form cartilage.

Developmental abnormalities involving structures of the heart. These defects are present at birth but may be discovered later in life.

Diversion of the flow of blood from the entrance of the right atrium directly to the aorta (or femoral artery) via an oxygenator thus bypassing both the heart and lungs.

Surgical insertion of synthetic material to repair injured or diseased heart valves.

The physical or mechanical action of the LUNGS; DIAPHRAGM; RIBS; and CHEST WALL during respiration. It includes airflow, lung volume, neural and reflex controls, mechanoreceptors, breathing patterns, etc.

Glycoproteins which have a very high polysaccharide content.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

A technique that localizes specific nucleic acid sequences within intact chromosomes, eukaryotic cells, or bacterial cells through the use of specific nucleic acid-labeled probes.

Surgical therapy of ischemic coronary artery disease achieved by grafting a section of saphenous vein, internal mammary artery, or other substitute between the aorta and the obstructed coronary artery distal to the obstructive lesion.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

The properties, processes, and behavior of biological systems under the action of mechanical forces.

The outward appearance of the individual. It is the product of interactions between genes, and between the GENOTYPE and the environment.

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action during the developmental stages of an organism.

Cells contained in the bone marrow including fat cells (see ADIPOCYTES); STROMAL CELLS; MEGAKARYOCYTES; and the immediate precursors of most blood cells.

Pathologic processes that affect patients after a surgical procedure. They may or may not be related to the disease for which the surgery was done, and they may or may not be direct results of the surgery.

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

An infant during the first month after birth.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.