A sucking chest wound is a hole in the chest—from a gunshot wound, stabbing, or other puncture wound—that makes a new pathway for air to travel into the chest cavity.
When the chest cavity is expanded in order to inhale, air not only goes into the mouth and nose like normal, it also goes into the hole.
Sucking chest wounds are dangerous because they lead to collapsed lungs (pneumothorax). Treating a sucking chest wound requires two things: keeping air from going in while still letting extra air out.
