Mesoesophagus and other fascial structures of the abdominal and lower thoracic esophagus: a histological study using human embryos and fetuses

A term "mesoesophagus" has been often used by surgeons, but the morphology was not described well. To better understand the structures attaching the human abdominal and lower thoracic esophagus to the body wall, we examined serial or semiserial sections from 10 embryos and 9 fetuses. The esophagus was initially embedded in a large posterior mesenchymal tissue, which included the vertebral column and aorta. Below the tracheal bifurcation at the fifth week, the esophagus formed a mesentery-like structure, which we call the "mesoesophagus," that was sculpted by the enlarging lungs and pleural cavity. The pneumatoenteric recess of the pleuroperitoneal canal was observed in the lowest part of the mesoesophagus. At the seventh week, the mesoesophagus was divided into the upper long and lower short parts by the diaphragm. Near the esophageal hiatus, the pleural cavity provided 1 or 2 recesses in the upper side, while the fetal adrenal gland in the left side was attached to the lower side of the mesoesophagus. At the 10th and 18th week, the mesoesophagus remained along the lower thoracic esophagus, but the abdominal esophagus attached to the diaphragm instead of to the left adrenal. The mesoesophagus did not contain any blood vessels from the aorta and to the azygos vein. The posterior attachment of the abdominal esophagus seemed to develop to the major part of the phrenoesophageal membrane with modification from the increased mass of the left fetal adrenal. After postnatal degeneration of the fetal adrenal, the abdominal esophagus might again obtain a mesentery. Consequently, the mesoesophagus seemed to correspond to a small area containing the pulmonary ligament and aorta in adults.