Tumors of the Mediastinum

Tumors of the mediastinum represent a wide diversity of disease states. The location and composition of a mass is critical to narrowing the differential diagnosis. The most common causes of an anterior mediastinal mass include the following: thymoma; teratoma; thyroid disease; and lymphoma. Masses of the middle mediastinum are typically congenital cysts, including foregut and pericardial cysts, while those that arise in the posterior mediastinum...