Mediastinum

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Mediastinum" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Mediastinum
3D rendering of a high resolution computed tomography of the thorax, with mediastinum marked in blue.
Mediastinum. The division between superior and inferior is at the sternal angle.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	mediastinum[1]
MeSH	D008482
TA98	A07.1.02.101
TA2	3333
FMA	9826
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The mediastinum (from Medieval Latin: mediastinus, lit. 'midway';^[2]pl.: mediastina) is the central compartment of the thoracic cavity. Surrounded by loose connective tissue, it is a region that contains vital organs and structures within the thorax, namely the heart and its vessels, the esophagus, the trachea, the vagus, phrenic and cardiac nerves, the thoracic duct, the thymus and the lymph nodes of the central chest.