Chest consists mainly of chest wall and thoracic cavity. Chest wall is composed of chest spine, sternum and muscles. These structures protect lung, heart and other mediastinal organs. Intercostal space is a popular access route to perform many kinds of interventional procedures in the chest. There are three large cavities in the chest: bilateral pleural cavities and pericardial cavity. Drainage of pleural effusion, pericardial effusion and abscess is frequently performed and is very important in clinical practice. Anatomical knowledge is essential to undertake safe interventional procedures. To minimize complications such as massive hemorrhage or nerve injury, we have to know where larger arteries or important nerves are running. This article provides anatomical knowledge and several comments related mainly to non-vascular interventional procedures.
