Thorax 2: Thoracic cavity

Question 1

Answer 1

Question 2

Answer 2

Question 3

Answer 3

Question 4

Answer 4

Question 5

What is a pleural recess?

Where do they exist and what are they called?

Answer 5

Question 6

Question 7

What is the mediastinum?

What is it separated into?

Answer 7

Question 8

What is the sternal angle?

What does the sternal angle divide?

Answer 8

Question 9

What is the middle mediastinum made up of (nervous and vascular).

Answer 9

Question 11

What vascular structures are in the anterior mediastinum?

Answer 11

Question 12

Answer 12

Question 13

What artery supplies the pericardium and parietal pleura?

Answer 13

Pericardiophrenic artery.

Question 14

Answer 14

Question 15

What are the different layers of the pericardium (superficial to deep)?

Answer 15

Fibrous: Tough - continuous with the tunica adventitia of the great vessels.

Parietal serous layer: fused with the fibrous layer.

Pericardial cavity: filled with serous fluid.

Question 16

What is the blood supply to the visceral pericardium?

What supplies the fibrous and parietal serous pericardium?

Answer 16

Coronary arteries supply not only the heart but the visceral pericardium.

The internal thoracic arteries and veins supply the fibrous and parietal pericardium.

Question 17

What is the nervous supply to the heart and pericardium?

Answer 17

Heart and visceral pericardium: The cardiac plexus (a visceral nerve plexus supplied by the vagus and sympathetic nerves). Sympathetic = cervical sympathetic trunks, parasympathetic = vagus nerve.

Parietal and fibrous pericardium: the phrenic nerves.

Question 19

Answer 19

Question 20

What are the different layers of the superior mediastinum?

Answer 20

Anterior part, middle part and posterior part.

Question 21

What are the important layers of the anterior part of the superior mediastinum?

Answer 21

The thymus, the internal thoracic arteries and veins, and the superior vena cava.

Question 22

Which vein, in the anteior part of the superior mediastinum, transverses the midline?

Answer 22

Question 23

What are the vascular and nervous structures in the middle part of the superior mediastinum?

Answer 23

Question 24

Answer 24

Question 25

Answer 25

Question 26

What structures are in the posterior aspect of the superior mediastinum?

Answer 26

The main structure is the trachea but a long with it is the recurrent laryngeal nerve.

Question 27

What are the boundaries of the aortopulmonary window? What is its significance? What is in the AP window?

Answer 27

Question 28

What is in the posterior mediastinum?

Answer 28

Main thing is the oesophagus, paravertebral spaces (endothoracic fascia), the thoracic duct and the azygous system of veins, sympathetic trunks and the thoracic aorta.

Question 29

What are the 3 narrowings of the oesophagus and their significance?

Answer 29

1. Junction of the oesophagus with the pharynx. 2. Where the aorta and trachea compress the oesophagus (T4/5) 3. At the oesophageal hiatus (lower oesophageal sphincter).

Question 30

What is posteior to the oesophagus and anterior to it?

Answer 30

Posterior: Spine Anterior: Trachea, oblique sinus and left atrium.

Question 31

What is the paravertebral space? What is its boarders?

Answer 31

A wedge shaped space on either side of the vertebral column. Anterior parietal pleura. Posterior: the transverse process of vertebrae. Medially: Oesophagus and trachea. Laterally: Parietal pleura.

Question 32

What is its clinical significance of the paravertebral space.

Answer 32

In order to do a paravertebral block which can block the entire spinal nerve. Cannot do an epidural in the thorax bc of the overlapping spinous processes.

Question 33

What is the green tube, and the enlargement at the bottom. Where do they drain lymph from?

Answer 33

Question 34

Answer 34

Question 35

Explain the azygous system of veins?

Answer 35

Right side: Azygous vein drains into SVC. Left side: The hemiazygous and accessory hemiazygous drains into the azygous. Hemiazygous and azygous are continuous with the ascending lumbar veins. They also drain the posterior intercostal veins.

Question 36

What are the sympathetic trunks? What is the parasympathetic nerve supply which runs in the posterior mediastinum?

Answer 36