Diaphragmatic apertures
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At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
View Jeremy Jones's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Arlene Campos had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Arlene Campos's current disclosuresThe diaphragmatic apertures are a series of apertures that permit the passage of structures between the thoracic and abdominal cavities. There are three main apertures:
-
aortic hiatus (T12 level, not a true aperture):
contains the aorta, thoracic duct, azygos vein
-
oesophageal hiatus (T10 level):
formed mainly by the large right crus and its muscular fibres
the phrenoesophageal ligament controls the hiatus
contains the oesophagus, vagus nerves, small oesophageal branches of the left gastric vessels, lymphatics
-
vena caval hiatus (T8 level):
at the junction of the right and middle leaflets of the central tendon
contains the inferior vena cava, right phrenic nerve
The vertebral levels of these apertures can be remembered by this mnemonic or by the number of letters in the spelling of vena cava (8), oesophagus (10) and aortic hiatus (12).
There are also several smaller lesser apertures.
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Related articles: Anatomy: Thoracic
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heart
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pericardium
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pericardium
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thoracic aorta (development)
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aortic root
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left main coronary artery (LMCA)
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circumflex artery (LCx)
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aortic root
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