Sawchyn Medical Illustration

This black and white line illustration, created with Dr. Peter Scrivani of Cornell University, clarifies the complexity of the mediastinal layers of the normal canine thorax. Highlighted landmark structures include: the cavum mediastini serosum (CMS); plica venae cavae (PVC); right and left pulmonary ligaments (RPL, LPL); and the relationship of the parietal (PP) and visceral pleurae (VP).

Also shown are how two parietal layers come together to form the mediastinum, divided into dorsal (DorM), middle (MidM), and ventral (VenM) areas. Lung lobes, major blood vessels, and layers of the pericardium are also depicted. Deciphering this anatomy is critical to assist professionals in reading computed tomography (CT) scans of dogs with mediastinal disease.