13. What is a haemothorax?
Correct answer:
A haemothorax often accompanies a chest injury and may be associated with a pneumothorax (haemopneumothorax). The bleeding is usually from an intercostal artery in the lacerated chest wall or from underlying contused lung, but on occasions may result from injury to the heart or great vessels. Retropleural bleeding may compress the thoracic viscera without breaching the pleural cavity.
