Thoracic Outlet Syndrome / Disease

Diseases & Conditions

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Synonyms of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Disorder Subdivisions

arterial thoracic outlet syndrome
neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome
nonspecific thoracic outlet syndrome
Paget-Schroetter syndrome
pectoralis minor syndrome
vascular thoracic outlet syndrome
venous thoracic outlet syndrome

General Discussion
Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition presenting with arm complaints of pain, numbness, tingling and weakness. The cause is pressure in the neck against the nerves and blood vessels that go to the arm.
There are three types of TOS depending on which structure is being compressed:
1. Neurogenic TOS-Bnerve compression comprises 95% of all TOS patients
2. Venous TOSB-compression of the main vein comprises 4% of all TOS patients
3. Arterial TOS-Bcompression of the main artery comprises less than 1% of all TOS patients
4. Vascular TOS is a term sometimes used but there is no such entity as vascular TOS. The term refers to TOS due either to compression of an artery or vein (arterial or venous TOS). The appropriate terms, arterial or venous, should be employed and the term vascular discarded.
The three types of TOS are very different from each other. Each will be described separately.

Organizations related to Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

American Chronic Pain Association
P.O. Box 850
Rocklin CA 95677
Phone #: 916-632-0922
800 #: 800-533-3231
e-mail: ACPA@Pacbell.net
Home page: http://www.theacpa.org
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
31 Center Drive
Bethesda MD 20892-2540
Phone #: 301-496-5751
800 #: 800-352-9424
e-mail: braininfo@ninds.nih.gov
Home page: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
United Brachial Plexus Network (UBPN)
1610 Kent Street
Kent OH 44240
Phone #: N/A
800 #: 866-877-7004
e-mail: info@ubpn.org
Home page: http://www.ubpn.org

For a Complete Report

This is an abstract of a report from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. ? (NORD). A copy of the complete report can be obtained for a small fee by visiting the NORD website. The complete report contains additional information including symptoms, causes, affected population, related disorders, standard and investigational treatments (if available), and references from medical literature. For a full-text version of this topic, see http://www.rarediseases.org/search/rdblist.html