thoracalgia
Meaning of thoracalgia: Thoracalgia refers to pain in the chest wall or chest region, a symptom that can stem from muscular, skeletal, or internal organ causes.
Definition of thoracalgia
Thoracalgia is a general term for chest pain, encompassing discomfort that may arise from the chest wall, including the ribs, muscles, and cartilage, or from an underlying process affecting the heart, lungs, or other structures within the chest.
Distinguishing the source of thoracalgia typically relies on the character of the pain, what makes it better or worse, and whether it is reproduced by pressing on the chest wall or by breathing and movement, alongside the broader clinical picture and any associated symptoms.
Because thoracalgia is a symptom rather than a diagnosis, further evaluation is generally needed to determine whether the pain originates from the musculoskeletal structures of the chest or from an internal organ.
How thoracalgia is built
- thorac/o Combining form · Greek chest, thorax
- -algia Suffix · Greek pain
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The clinician documented thoracalgia that was reproducible with palpation of the chest wall.
Good to know
Thoracalgia and thoracodynia are interchangeable terms for chest pain, and neither specifies whether the source is the chest wall or an internal organ.
Word origin
Where “thoracalgia” comes from
Formed from thorac-, from Greek thorax, meaning "chest," and -algia, from Greek algos, meaning "pain."