Insertion of chest tubes location

this is because the fluid settles by gravity to these lower levels of the intrapleural spaces. the purpose of the chest tube when there is a hemothorax is to drain the blood. (page 118-119,

from lippincott williams & wilkins). i initially answered this false since if the patient is bedridden gravity is going to move the blood to the posterior areas of the patient's chest cavity. however, my references here at home do state the tube is inserted anteriorly and the patient should be encouraged to lean over the overbed table or straddle the back of a chair. the fact is that the placement of chest tubes is often a physician preference based on their experience and success.

the collection chamber is always the very first one between the system and the patient. it catches and traps any drainage coming out of the chest cavity while allowing the any air escaping from the chest tube to continue on to the water seal chamber. the water seal bottle, or chamber, will be the farthest one in the series of chambers between the patient's chest and the final water seal chamber. it allows any air escaping from the patient's chest to escape into the atmosphere while maintaining the negative pressure of the chest cavity.