[Rare thoracic injuries (biomechanics, diagnosis and therapy) (author's transl)].

Thoracic injuries caused by direct or indirect power action involve various injury effects. The extent of injury depends on the force and the direction of the acting power, on the biomechanical properties of the partial structures of the thorax, and on genetically determined variations of form and structure. These correlations are demonstrated by special examples of rare thoracic injuries. The motto for the diagnostic and the choice of the therapeutical procedure is: "Inter vulnerationem thoracis diagnosis incipiat".