Tension Pneumothorax

"It rubs the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again." - Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs)

Since all the pulmonologists here seem to go absolutely mental over the fact buffaloes have communicating lung pleura (which apparently made it really easy for Native Americans to ARROW them back in the day), here's a buffalo for your viewing pleasure. I know what you're thinking: it looks like an ox with a fro or an ox with its brains splattered out. Or maybe even a pig.

Anyway here's the fact of the day: a tension pneumothorax occurs where there is a penetrating tear to the pleura. This tear looks like a flap and acts as a check valve in that it allows air into the pleural cavity but not out. Thus with each breath, there is an increase in pleural cavity pressure.