Contribution to the topographical anatomy of the thorax in the foetus at term and the new-born child / by George S. Huntington.

  • Huntington, George S. (George Sumner), 1861-1927.
Date:
[1897?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Contribution to the topographical anatomy of the thorax in the foetus at term and the new-born child / by George S. Huntington. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    each presents a cast of its side of the thoracic cavity. The following sur- faces can be distinguished: 1. Sternocostal surface (Figs. V and VI, 1) extends transversely between the sharp anterior margin (2) and the blunt posterior margin (6), fitted against the concavity of the parietal pleura lining the internal surface of the thoracic wall from the posterior surface of sternum and costal cartilages in front to the line marked superficially by the costal angles behind. 2. Mediastinal surface (Figs. V and VI, 3) is included between the anterior (2) and internal margin (4), concave in main, directed inward and somewhat forward in the posterior part, modelled upon the contents of the anterior portion of the mediastinum, especially upon portions of the pericardium, thymus gland, and large vessels covered by the mediastinal pleura. 3. Costovertebral surface (Figs. V and VI, 5) directed backwards and inwards, included between the internal (4) and posterior borders (6). This surface is applied to that portion of the parietal pleura which covers the sides of the vertebral bodies and intervertebral disks, the heads of the ribs and sympathetic nerve strand, and the anterior surface of the necks and bodies of the ribs as far out as the point where the latter change their original outward and backward direction to curve forward in the lateral thoracic wall. The principle adopted in the above definition of the lung surfaces is afforded by the direction of the surfaces, the presence of distinct margins, and the relations to thoracic contents and walls. The mediastinal surface is taken to include all that portion of the medial aspect of each lung which comes indirectly, by means of the interposed mediastinal layer of the parie- tal pleura, into contact and relation with the visceral, vascular, and ner- vous structures contained in the mediastinal space. This is quite readily apparent in the anterior parts of this surface, where large impressions exist for adaptation to the bulky thymus gland and pericardium. In the pos- terior portion of this area the relation to structures entering and leaving the lung at the hilus is well defined, from the intimate connection of these parts with the pulmonary substance. But above, below, and behind the hilus the mediastinal surface of the lung comes into contact with the pleura covering vascular and visceral structures which pursue in main a vertical course in the posterior mediastinum. The published descriptions of the anatomy of the lung separate a sterno- costal and mediastinal surface by the sharp anterior margin, and state in general that posteriorly these pass into each other by means of a thick, rounded posterior border. Even to take the posterior margin of the aortic groove as separating the mediastinal from the parietal surface of the left lung, and the posterior margin of the azygos furrow as separating the cor- responding portions of the right lung, is not correct. In the detailed con- sideration of the relations of the mediastinal pulmonary surfaces, given below, it will be seen that the character of this area is complex, coming into relation with successive structures as they approach or recede from the posterior part of the mediastinal pleural leaf.