Heart Motion Due to Blunt Trauma to the Thorax

The displacement of the heart due to blunt trauma to the thorax has been shown to be a factor in the intimal and medial lesions of the aorta and great vessels. This displacement has been verified by means of high-speed flash x-rays taken during impact to the thorax of living animals. These x-ray findings corroborate the previous work by the authors and yield further insight into the mechanism of formation of the intimai and medial tears of the aorta and great vessels. The paper will show the results of this research and will substantiate the mechanism by means of the roentgenograms taken during the impacts.