Emergency War Surgery NATO Handbook: Part IV: Regional Wounds and Injuries: Chapter XXVIII: Wounds and Injuries of the Chest
United States Department of Defense
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Hemothorax is dangerous not only because it can lead to hypovolemic shock, but also because it may result in compression of the injured lung and thereby cause a reduction in vital capacity. Bleeding may arise from lacerated pulmonary parenchyma, from systemic arteries such as the intercostals or the internal mammaries, or from the heart and great vessels. Bleeding from the latter may be so massive as to create a rapidly fatal condition best characterized as a tension hemothorax.
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