| |
| | eMedicine - Pancoast Tumor : Article by Shabir Bhimji, MD |
 | | Bronchogenic carcinomas occurring in the narrow confines of the thoracic inlet invade the lymphatics in the endothoracic fascia and include, by direct extension, the intercostal nerves, the lower roots of the brachial plexus, the stellate ganglion, the sympathetic chain, and adjacent ribs and vertebrae. |
 | | Pathophysiology: The mass in the superior sulcus is an extension of a lung tumor; most of it lies outside the lung and involves the chest wall, nerve roots, lower trunks of the brachial plexus, sympathetic chain, stellate ganglion, ribs, and bone. |
 | | The symptoms are typical of the location of the tumor in the superior sulcus or thoracic inlet adjacent to the eighth cervical nerve roots, the first and second thoracic trunk distribution, the sympathetic chain, and the stellate ganglion. |
| www.emedicine.com /med/topic3576.htm (4689 words) |
|