A 35-year-old man has been delivered into a surgical ward with a suppurating wound in the neck, anterior to the trachea (previsceral space). If a surgical operation is not performed urgently, there is a risk of infection spreading to the:

Answer options

1. Interaponeurotic suprasternal space
2. Retrovisceral space
3. Thoracic cavity - anterior mediastinum
4. Thoracic cavity - posterior mediastinum
5. Thoracic cavity - middle mediastinum

Explanation

Trachea (perivisceral space), the peritracheal portion of the visceral space extends to the anterior mediastinum at the level of the arch of the aorta and fibrous pericardium, infections in the perivisceral space can rapidly extend to the anterior mediastinum.