Superficial chest wall

Looks like

The outer layers of the chest: skin, fat, breast tissue and the muscles lying on the ribs, mainly the pectorals and serratus.

What it does

Covers and cushions the rib cage and moves the shoulders and arms.

Keeping it well

Most chest wall pain is harmless and worse on pressing; chest pressure with breathlessness or sweating is an emergency.

Its parts

• Left subclavius
• Right subclavius
• Anterior superficial chest wall

Related conditions

• Botulism
• Fibromyalgia
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Heat exhaustion & heatstroke
• Malnutrition & refeeding syndrome
• Muscular dystrophy
• Pleural effusion
• Pneumothorax
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Sarcoma
• Sarcopenia
• Tetanus