The Clinical Anatomy of the Vascular System | Ch 42

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

6-12-2025

Editor

Stephen J. Bordes, Jr. et al

Abstract

The primitive mediastinum arises from mesenchyme during the fourth week of development. The intraembryonic coelom gives rise to the mesodermally lined pericardial cavity, peritoneal cavity, and two pericardioperitoneal canals, all of which contribute to the borders of the mediastinum (Ronson et al. 2000). Infoldings of the pericardial cavity, the pleuropericardial canals, grow medially from the lateral body wall and begin to create the division between the peritoneum and the pericardium (Schoenwolf et al. 2021). These pleuropericardial canals form the initial lateral borders of the mediastinum (Ronson et al. 2000). The mediastinal space is further defined as the bronchial lung buds extend into the pleuropericardial canals, pushing the superior and inferior surfaces of the canals away from each other (Ronson et al. 2000). The embryonic mediastinum is formed by the end of the seventh week of development when the pleuropericardial membranes growing from the lateral body wall fuse with mesoderm at the midline (Schoenwolf et al. 2021). This creates defined borders for the pericardial cavity and pleural cavities, forming a space for the mediastinum and its structures to extend from the sternum to the vertebral column and lie between the lungs (Ronson et al. 2000).

First Page

303

Last Page

308

Chapter Title

Chapter 42 - Veins of the Mediastinum

Publisher

Springer Nature

ISBN

[9783031783258, 9783031783265]

Rights

© 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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