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| Mediastinum. The division between superior and inferior is at the sternal angle. The sternal angle is the angle formed by the junction of the Manubrium and the body of the Sternum (the manubriosternal junction) in the form of a secondary | |
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| Mediastinum anatomy | |
| Gray's | subject #239 1090 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | m_06/12518945 |
The mediastinum is a non-delineated group of structures in the thorax (chest), surrounded by loose connective tissue. Gray's Anatomy the Respiratory apparatus ( Apparatus Respiratorius Respiratory system Respiratory apparatus Elsevier, the world's largest Publisher of Medical and Scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group The thorax is a division of an Animal 's body that lies between the head and the Abdomen. Areolar tissue (a type of "loose connective tissue" exhibits loosely organized fibers abundant blood vessels and a lot of seemingly empty space It is the central compartment of the thoracic cavity. The thoracic cavity (or chest cavity) is the chamber of the human body (and other animal bodies that is protected by the Thoracic wall ( Thoracic cage It contains the heart, the great vessels of the heart, esophagus, trachea, phrenic nerve, cardiac nerve, thoracic duct, thymus, and lymph nodes of the central chest. The heart is a muscular organ in all Vertebrates responsible for pumping Blood through the Blood vessels by repeated rhythmic The esophagus or oesophagus (see American and British English spelling differences) sometimes known as the gullet, is an organ in In Human anatomy, the thymus is an organ located in the upper Anterior portion of the chest cavity just behind the Sternum. A Lymph node ( lɪmf noʊd is an organ consisting of many types of cells and is a part of the Lymphatic system.
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Anatomy
The mediastinum lies between the right and left pleura in and near the median sagittal plane of the chest. A sagittal plane of the human body is an imaginary plane that travels from the top to the bottom of the body dividing it into left and right portions It extends from the sternum in front to the vertebral column behind, and contains all the thoracic viscera except the lungs. lung is the essential Respiration organ in air-breathing Animals including most Tetrapods a few Fish and a few Snails The most primitive It may be divided for purposes of description into two parts:
- an upper portion, above the upper level of the pericardium, which is named the superior mediastinum with its superior limit at the superior thoracic opening and its inferior limit at the plane from the sternal angle to the disc of T4-T5 (Plane of Ludwig);
- and a lower portion, below the upper level of the pericardium. The superior mediastinum is that portion of the Interpleural space which lies between the Manubrium sterni in front and the upper Thoracic vertebrae behind This lower portion is again subdivided into three parts, viz. :
- that in front of the pericardium, the anterior mediastinum;
- that containing the pericardium and its contents, the middle mediastinum;
- and that behind the pericardium, the posterior mediastinum. The anterior mediastinum exists only on the left side where the left pleura diverges from the Mid-sternal line. The middle mediastinum is the broadest part of the interpleural space The posterior mediastinum is an irregular triangular space running parallel with the Vertebral column.
It is surrounded by the chest wall anteriorly, the lungs laterally and the spine posteriorly. It is continuous with the loose connective tissue of the neck, and extends inferiorly onto the diaphragm. The neck is the part of the Body on many limbed Vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the Torso or trunk For other types of diaphragm see Diaphragm. In the Anatomy of Mammals the thoracic diaphragm is a sheet of Muscle
Note that clinical radiologists and anatomists categorize the mediastinum in slightly different ways.
Role in disease
The mediastinum frequently is the site of involvement of various tumors. Masses in the anterior portion of the mediastinum can include Thymoma, Lymphoma, Pheochromocytoma and Germ cell tumors including Masses in the anterior portion of the mediastinum can include Thymoma, Lymphoma, Pheochromocytoma and Germ cell tumors including
Mediastinitis is inflammation of the tissues in the mediastinum, usually bacterial and due to rupture of organs in the mediastinum. Mediastinitis is Inflammation of the tissues in the mid-chest or Mediastinum. Inflammation ( Latin, inflamatio, to set on fire is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli such as Pathogens The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have As the infection can progress very quickly, this is a serious condition.
Pneumomediastinum is the presence of air in the mediastinum, which can lead to pneumothorax, pneumoperitoneum, and pneumopericardium if left untreated in some cases. Pneumomediastinum (from Greek pneuma - "air" also known as mediastinal emphysema) is a condition in which air is present in the Mediastinum Pneumoperitoneum is air or gas in the abdominal (peritoneal cavity Pneumopericardium is a medical condition where air enters the Pericardial cavity. However, that does not always happen and sometimes those conditions actually are the cause, not the result, of pneumomediastinum.
These two conditions frequently accompany Boerhaave's syndrome, or spontaneous esophageal rupture. Boerhaave syndrome (also called Boerhaave's syndrome) or Esophageal perforation, is rupture of the esophageal wall
A widened mediastinum (usually found via a chest x-ray) is a classic hallmark sign of anthrax posioning. At this point, the disease is typically fatal.
See also
- Widened mediastinum
- Mediastinum testis (unrelated structure in the scrotum)
- Mediastinal germ cell tumor
- Mediastinitis
- Anthrax
External links
- 1691353147 at GPnotebook
- SUNY Figs 21:01-03 - "Divisions of the mediastinum. Widened mediastinum is a Mediastinum with a measured width greater than 8 cm on PA Chest X-ray. The mediastinum testis is a network of fibrous connective tissue that extends from the upper to near the lower extremity of the Testis, and is wider above than below In some Male Mammals the scrotum - also 'scrutum' or 'scrootum' - is a protuberance of Skin and Muscle containing the Testicles Malignant mediastinal germ cell tumors of various histologies were first described as a clinical entity approximately 50 years ago Mediastinitis is Inflammation of the tissues in the mid-chest or Mediastinum. Anthrax is an acute Disease in humans and animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis which is highly lethal in some forms GPnotebook is a British medical database for General practitioners (GPs The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is an academic medical center and is the only one of its kind "
- SUNY Figs 21:02-03 - "The anatomical divisions of the inferior mediastinum. The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is an academic medical center and is the only one of its kind "
- Norman/Georgetown thoraxlesson3 - "Subdivisions of the Thoracic Cavity"
- mediastinum at eMedicine Dictionary
- Anatomy at MUN thorax/media
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. Georgetown University is a Jesuit Private university located in Georgetown Washington D eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996 by Scott Plantz and Richard Lavely two medical doctors Memorial University of Newfoundland, (colloquially known as Memorial University or "MUN") is a comprehensive university located primarily in St The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (or Gray's Anatomy as it has commonly been shortened is an English-language Human anatomy Textbook As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
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