What is the primary muscle that needs to be cut when the skin is already removed to access the thoracic cavity?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking which primary muscle must be cut to access the thoracic cavity once the skin has already been removed. The options given are muscles commonly associated with the thoracic region, and the answer would involve some knowledge of human anatomy.
Answer
Latissimus dorsi
To access the thoracic cavity after skin removal, the primary muscle that often needs to be cut is the latissimus dorsi.
Answer for screen readers
To access the thoracic cavity after skin removal, the primary muscle that often needs to be cut is the latissimus dorsi.
More Information
The latissimus dorsi muscle is often transected during a standard posterolateral thoracotomy to gain access to the thoracic cavity, though muscle-sparing techniques may exist to avoid cutting it.
Sources
- Thoracotomy: What It Is, Purpose, Procedure & Recovery - my.clevelandclinic.org
- Thoracotomy - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Posterolateral thoracotomy - MMCTS - mmcts.org
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