what does it mean when a patient has retractions
Recognizing Intercostal Retractions. Your intercostal muscles are attached to your ribs, and they normally contract and move your ribs up when you breathe in air. At the same time, your diaphragm drops lower, and your lungs fill with air. When you have a partial blockage in your upper airway or the small airways in your lungs, air cannot flow freely and the pressure in this part of your body decreases. As a result, your intercostal muscles are sucked in sharply inside your rib cage. These movements are called retractions. Intercostal retractions occur when the muscles between your ribs are pulled inward. This is also called intercostal recession. These movements indicate that something is blocking your airway.
retraction. the act of drawing back, or condition of being drawn back. clot retraction the drawing away of a blood clot from the wall of a vessel, a stage of wound healing caused by contraction of platelets; it is a function of blood platelets that can be tested to assess platelet viability.
retraction, n 1. a drawing or shrinking back; the laying back of tissues to expose a given part. n 2. distal movement of teeth; a distal or retrusive position of the teeth, dental arch, or jaw. retraction, gingival, n laying back of the free gingival tissue to expose the gingival margin area of a preparation by mechanical, chemical, or electrical means.