Thoracic surgery

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Thoracic surgery

Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
involved in the surgical

Surgery

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
treatment of disease

Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
s affecting organs inside the thorax

Thorax

The thorax is a division of an animal's body that lies between the head and the abdomen.In mammals, the thorax is the region of the body formed by the sternum, the thoracic vertebrae and the ribs....
(the chest) excluding the heart

Heart

The heart is a muscle organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods....
. Generally treatment of conditions of the lung

Lung

The lung is the essential respiration organ in air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located in the chest on either side of the heart....
s, chest wall, esophagus

Esophagus

The esophagus or oesophagus , sometimes known as the gullet, is an Organ in vertebrates which consists of a Muscle tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach....
and diaphragm

Thoracic diaphragm

In the anatomy of mammals, the thoracic diaphragm is a sheet of muscle extending across the bottom of the ribcage. The diaphragm separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity and performs an important function in Respiration ....
.

Thoracic surgery is often grouped with cardiac surgery

Cardiac surgery

Cardiac surgery is surgery on the heart and/or great vessels performed by a cardiac surgeon. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease created by various causes including endocarditis....
and called cardiothoracic surgery

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgery treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax . Generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs ....
.

"According to a June, 2003 article in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the workforce currently appears "right sized," although the workforce survey cited indicates significant retirement during the next 10 to 15 years.