Billy is injured during a high school football game. His chest is ...

[Haya94]

Billy is injured during a high school football game. His chest is badly bruised and he is experiencing difficulty in breathing. What might the problem be?

Question 2

Why are ruptured intervertebral discs more common in lumbar vertebrae and dislocations and fractures more common in cervical vertebrae?

[bimper21]

Answer to Question 1

Billy has probably broken one or more of his ribs. Movement of the ribs changes the size of the thoracic cavity, which is an important part of breathing. When the ribs are broken, breathing can become difficult (labored) because of pain when the ribs are moved.

Answer to Question 2

The lumbar vertebrae have massive bodies and carry a lot of weight; these factors contribute to the rupturing of an intervertebral disc. The cervical vertebrae are more delicate and have small bodies; these factors increase the possibility of dislocations and fractures in the cervical vertebrae.

[Haya94]

Excellent

[dantucker]

TYSM