Mediastinum Flashcards
Where is mediastinum located
It is a mass of tissue , located between the two pulmonary cavity
What is the central compartment of the Thoracic cavity
The mediastinum
Mediastinum contains all the thoracic viscera and structures except
The lungs
The mediastinum is covered by what
The mediastinum pleura
Why is the mediastinum highly mobile
It consists of hollow(liquid or air filled) visceral structures United only by loose connective tissues
Divisions of the mediastinum
Superior
Inferior
Superior mediastinum
Extends inferiorly from the superior thoracic aperture to the horizontal plane that includes the sternal angle anteriorly and passes approximately through the junction of the t4 and t5 vertebrae posteriorly
Inferior mediastinum
Between the transverse thoracic plane and diaphragm
Divisions of inferior mediastinum
Inferior mediastinum is divided by the pericardium into anterior middle and posterior parts.
What constitutes the middle mediastinum
The pericardium and its contents
Contents of the pericardium
The heart and the root of its great vessels
Describe the pericardium
It is a fibroserous membrane that covers the heart and the beginning of the great vessels
Layers of pericardium
Fibrous layer
Serous layer
Divisions of serous layers of pericardium
Parietal layer of serous pericardium
Visceral layer of serous pericardium
Contents of middle mediastinum
Pericardium
Heart
Pulmonary veins
Pulmonary trunks
Aorta
Phrenic nerves
Lower half of svc,
Terminations of ivc
Lymph nodes
Anterior boundary of posterior mediastinum
Pericardium, diaphragm
Posterior boundary of posterior mediastinum
Lower 8 thoracic vertebrae
Superior boundary of posterior mediastinum
Horizontal plane
Inferior border of posterior mediastinum
Diaphragm
Contents of posterior mediastinum
V DATES
Left and right vagus
Diaphragm
Azygous and hemiazygous veins
Thoracic ducts
Esophagus
Sympathetic trunks and their branches
Lymph nodes
Contents of superior mediastinum
ETA left baby sitting tight
Esophagus
Trachea
Arch of aorta and its 3 branches
Brachiocephalic, left common carotid, left subclavian
Left and right brachiocephalic veins
Svc
Thymus glands
Nerves
Left and right vagus nerve
Phrenic nerve
Left and right sympathetic trunk
Left recurrent laryngeal
Lymphatic structures
Thoracic ducts
Lymph nodes
The fibrous layer of the heart is continuous with the central tendon of the diaphragm via what
Pericardiophrenic ligament
Fibrous pericardium is continuous with what superiorly
With the tunica adventita (perivascular c.t)of the great vessels leaving and entering the heart
With the pretracheal layer of deep cervical fascia
The fibrous layer of the pericardium is attached anteriorly to what
To the posterior surface of the sternum via the sternopericardial ligaments
Fibrous layer of pericardium is attached posteriorly to what
It is bound posteriorly by loose connective tissues to structures in the posterior mediastinum
