Mediastinal masses may be caused by a wide variety of neoplastic and non-neoplastic pathologies. It is helpful to identify the location of the mass since this significantly reduces the breadth of the differential diagnosis.
There are four conceptual compartments of the mediastinum which are dictated by their relationships to the thoracic plane and pericardium:
superior mediastinum: above the thoracic plane
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inferior mediastinum: below the thoracic plane
anterior mediastinal mass: anterior to the pericardium
middle mediastinal mass: within the pericardium
posterior mediastinal mass: posterior to the pericardium
The mediastinum does not have strict boundaries within it and large lesions will span more than one 'compartment'. Thus, an alternative description of location 3 has been described as:
prevascular
visceral
paraspinal
These terms correspond to anterior, middle, and posterior.
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