What does thoracotomy mean?
Thoracotomy is the medical term for a surgical incision made through the chest wall to open or access the thoracic cavity, the body region containing the lungs and heart as well as the esophagus, major blood vessels, and other structures. In operations involving the lungs or heart, or during emergency situations requiring rapid access to the chest, a thoracotomy provides the route through which a surgeon works. The term belongs chiefly to surgical and clinical contexts. It denotes the incision itself rather than the entire operation; the broader procedures may be described as thoracic surgery. A thoracotomy differs from a thoracoscopy, which uses small scope-guided openings rather than a broad surgical opening, and from thoracocentesis, which removes fluid from around the lungs with a needle. Though uncommon in everyday speech, thoracotomy is useful because it names precisely a major category of surgical access.
nounA surgical incision through the chest wall into the thoracic cavity, usually made to provide access to the lungs, heart, esophagus, or other structures in the chest. It denotes the incision or the act of making it.
- A surgical incision through the chest wall into the thoracic cavity, or the act of making such an incision.
"The surgeon made a posterolateral thoracotomy to access the diseased lung."
"The surgeon made a posterolateral thoracotomy to access the diseased lung."
"An emergency thoracotomy was performed when rapid access to the patient's chest was required."
The standard plural is thoracotomies.
"Several thoracotomies were required to access the injured structures."
The name is almost diagrammatic: thorax means “chest,” and -tomy means “cutting”—literally, an opening into the chest.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does thoracotomy come from?
Thoracotomy combines thoraco-, derived from Latin thorax, which was borrowed from Greek thōrax meaning “breast, chest, or thorax,” with -tomy, from Greek -tomia meaning “a cutting.” The English medical compound follows the established pattern of other Greek-derived surgical terms ending in -tomy. Its relatives include thoracic, thoracoscope, and thoracoscopy.
How thoracotomy is actually used
This is a technical term used chiefly in surgical and clinical contexts. It specifically names an incision into the chest rather than the broader field or specialty of thoracic surgery.
Easily confused with thoracotomy
A thoracotomy is a surgical incision into the chest cavity, whereas thoracocentesis is a needle procedure used to remove fluid from the pleural space around the lungs.