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Esophageal Anatomy

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Esophageal Cancer

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Abstract

The esophagus has a peculiar anatomy: (a) it is surrounded by important organs and structures, (b) it crosses three cavities: neck, thorax and abdomen, (c) its lymphatic distribution is abundant and erratic, (d) the organs and structures of the mediastinum frequently present anatomic variations, and (e) the classic anatomic description is different from clinical presentation. In addition, minimally invasive surgery also brought a restricted but magnified view of the esophagus, and available imaging technology forces the understanding of sectional and regional anatomy. For all these reasons, the knowledge of the surgical anatomy of the esophagus is essential for surgeons before performing an esophagectomy. This chapter reviews the surgical anatomy of the esophagus and neighbor structures of interest to perform an esophagectomy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Londrina, Brazil

    Mariano A. Menezes

  2. Department of Surgery, Hospital Alemán of Buenos Aires, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Francisco Schlottmann

  3. Department of Surgery, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Diogo de Faria 1087 cj 301, Sao Paulo, 04037-003, Brazil

    Fernando A. M. Herbella

Authors
  1. Mariano A. Menezes
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  2. Francisco Schlottmann
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  3. Fernando A. M. Herbella
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fernando A. M. Herbella .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Alemán of Buenos Aires, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Francisco Schlottmann

  2. Department of Surgery and Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Lorenzo Ferri

  3. Thoracic Surgery Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Daniela Molena

  4. Department of Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Marco G. Patti

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Menezes, M.A., Schlottmann, F., Herbella, F.A.M. (2023). Esophageal Anatomy. In: Schlottmann, F., Ferri, L., Molena, D., Patti, M.G. (eds) Esophageal Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39086-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39086-9_1

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