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Radiographic analysis of the mediastinum is challenging. Excellent knowledge of mediastinal anatomy and borders between individual mediastinal structures and the adjacent lungs is necessary in order to make analysis findings helpful to clinicians. Chest radiography is the first-step imaging method for analysis of the mediastinum. On chest x-rays, the mediastinum can be compared to a white box whose important contents, except for the trachea, cannot be seen, with the exception of the areas where they shape their wrapping membrane, the mediastinal pleura. The air-water interface at the boundary between the mediastinal pleura and adjacent lungs permits the contours of the mediastinum to be seen and evaluated. Abnormalities in the borders and shapes of mediastinal structures define pathological conditions in this part of the thoracic cavity and determine further diagnostic procedures.