This problem tells me that the esophagus is in the superior section of the digestive tract running from the pharynx, the back of the mouth, to the stomach. It runs through the middle of the thoracic cavity behind the trachea and the heart, and through the diaphragm where it meets the stomach and the abdominal cavity. Based on that information, fill in the table below. Well, in the table, our first column says location, and the locations it gives are the thoracic cavity, the pericardial cavity, the pleural cavity, and the mediastinum. And then it asks, is the esophagus found inside each? And if no, give a directional term indicating its relative location.
So let's start with the thoracic cavity. Is the esophagus in the thoracic cavity? Well, it says right here. It's in the middle of the thoracic cavity. So I'm going to say yes to that because it's inside. I don't need to give a directional term.
Next, we have the pericardial cavity. Is the esophagus in the pericardial cavity? Well, the pericardial cavity is the cavity made up by the pericardium, the membrane that surrounds the heart. Remember, the cavity is the space between those two layers of membrane. The esophagus is not in there, so I'm going to say no. Where is it relative to the heart in the pericardium? Well, it says right here that it is behind the heart. So we have a term for behind in the body, and that is posterior. Just also note you could write deep. Right? It's deeper into the body than the heart, so the esophagus is deep to the heart.
Next, we have the pleural cavity. Is the esophagus in the pleural cavity? Well, the pleural cavity made up by the pleura, a membrane that surrounds the lung. No, it is not in there, so I'll write no. But where is it relative to that cavity? Well, here it just says pleural cavity. It just lists one. It doesn't say the pleural cavities. Doesn't tell me left or right, but regardless either one the esophagus is going to be medial, towards the middle of the body compared to a pleural cavity. Now if it said pleural cavities or the pleurae, then I could say that it is also intermediate. Remember intermediate means between two things on that medial-lateral scale.
Finally, we have the mediastinum. Is the esophagus in the mediastinum? Well, the mediastinum is this orange region here. This orange region is the space between the lungs. The esophagus is running down the middle of the thoracic cavity, so it's absolutely in the mediastinum. Because it's in, I don't need to give a directional term.
With that, I'll see you in the next video.