Table of Contents
- 1 What are the parts of the mediastinum?
- 2 What is thoracic sympathetic chain?
- 3 Where is the thoracic sympathetic ganglia located?
- 4 Why are thoracic organs in separate compartments?
- 5 Where does the sympathetic chain start?
- 6 Is there a parasympathetic chain?
- 7 What forms the posterior border of the superior mediastinum?
- 8 Which one of the following is found only in the superior mediastinum?
- 9 What is the posterior mediastinum?
- 10 What is the posterior boundary of the thoracic spine?
What are the parts of the mediastinum?
The mediastinum is a division of the thoracic cavity; it contains the heart, thymus gland, portions of the esophagus and trachea, and other structures. For clinical purposes it is traditionally divided into the anterior, middle, posterior, and superior regions.
What is thoracic sympathetic chain?
The thoracic part of the sympathetic chain runs downward on head of ribs and leaves the thorax on the side of the body of the 12th thoracic vertebra behind the medial arcuate ligament. The thoracic part of the sympathetic chain has rami communicantes, postganglionic fibers to the heart, aorta, lungs and oesophagus.
Where is the thoracic sympathetic ganglia located?
neck
The sympathetic trunk Each trunk contains a number of sympathetic ganglia, the thoracic region having about 11 ganglia which lie on the neck of the ribs. The ganglia are closely related to the intercostal nerves from which they receive preganglionic fibres as white rami communicantes.
What does the posterior mediastinum include?
The posterior mediastinum includes the descending aorta, adjacent osseous structures (the spine and ribs), nerves, roots, spinal cord, esophagus, azygous and hemiazygous veins, and some lymph nodes.
Which of the following is in the thoracic cavity but not the mediastinum?
The thoracic cavity contains the lungs and the mediastinum, which contains the heart and its attached blood vessels, the trachea, the esophagus, and all other organs in this region except for the lungs.
Why are thoracic organs in separate compartments?
The thoracic wall actually encloses a cavity, or space, that is filled with various anatomical structures. Since there are so many of them, the thoracic cavity is divided into several compartments to aid their localization.
Where does the sympathetic chain start?
spinal cord
The general rule of interaction of the nerve fibers in the sympathetic nervous system begins at the spinal cord. Here they arise from the thoracolumbar (T1-L2) regions’ lateral horn of grey and emerge via the ventral root.
Is there a parasympathetic chain?
Nerve innervation of the autonomic nervous system: The parasympathetic nervous system, shown in blue, is a division of the autonomic nervous system. ganglia contain approximately 20000–30000 nerve cell bodies and are located close to and on either side of the spinal cord in long chains.
Where does the sympathetic chain end?
The superior end of it is continued upward through the carotid canal into the skull, and forms a plexus on the internal carotid artery; the inferior part travels in front of the coccyx, where it converges with the other trunk at a structure known as the ganglion impar.
Where is the posterior mediastinum located?
The Posterior Mediastinum is an irregular triangular space running parallel with the vertebral column; it is bounded in front by the pericardium above, and by the posterior surface of the diaphragm below, behind by the vertebral column from the lower border of the fourth to the twelfth thoracic vertebra, and on either …
What forms the posterior border of the superior mediastinum?
The superior mediastinum is a space bounded anteriorly by the manubrium of the sternum, and posteriorly by the bodies of T1-T4 vertebrae. Its superior border is an oblique plane extending from the jugular notch of the manubrium to the superior border of T1 vertebra.
Which one of the following is found only in the superior mediastinum?
Superior Mediastinum: Organs: thymus, trachea, esophagus. Arteries: aortic arch, brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery, left subclavian artery. Veins and lymphatics: superior vena cava, brachiocephalic veins, the arch of the azygos, thoracic duct.
What is the posterior mediastinum?
Within these boundaries, the posterior mediastinum contains the esophagus, descending aorta, sympathetic chain and vagus nerves, thoracic duct, azygos and hemiazygos veins, fat, and lymph nodes ( Fig. 43-1 ). 1 Figure 43–1 Lateral chest film divided into three anatomic subdivisions with the most common location of the tumors and cysts.
What are the sympathetic trunks of the thoracic region?
In the thoracic region, these nerve bundles are known as the thoracic sympathetic trunks. As they descend through the thorax, they lie within the posterior mediastinum. Arising from these trunks are the lower thoracic splanchnic nerves – they continue inferiorly to supply the viscera of the abdomen.
What is the superior mediastinum of the thoracic outlet?
Superior Mediastinum: bordered by the thoracic outlet superiorly, transverse thoracic plane (the plane of Ludwig) or sternal angle inferiorly, medial border of the pleural sacs laterally, dorsal surface of the sternum anteriorly, and ventral surface of the first four thoracic vertebral bodies posteriorly[1][2][3]
What is the posterior boundary of the thoracic spine?
The posterior boundary is the anterior surfaces of the bodies of thoracic vertebrae T5-T12. In the dissection of cadavers, the posterior mediastinum is exposed by removing the pericardial sac and the heart. When this is done, we see the structures that lie immediately behind the pericardium.