{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T14:31:00Z","timestamp":1774535460362,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]],"date-time":"2025-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751932800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a helpful tool for the study of the mediastinum, a challenging region for both transesophageal and endobronchial (EBUS) endosonography. This area is divided into sections and contains numerous lymph nodes essential for the staging and diagnosis of conditions like lung cancer, sarcoidosis, and infections. EUS allows for detailed examination of the mediastinal region, identifying various kinds of abnormalities, whether they are benign cysts or malignant tumors. The aim of this narrative review is to provide a clear overview of how EUS contributes to mediastinal diagnostics and to offer practical insights for clinicians. A comprehensive, non-systematic search of PubMed was conducted by the authors to identify relevant studies. EUS methods, such as elastography and contrast-enhanced imaging, have improved diagnosis by analyzing tissue stiffness and blood flow, and they help endosonographers distinguish between different conditions. EUS-guided tissue sampling techniques, like fine needle aspiration and biopsy, are crucial for detecting cancer and examining lymph nodes in a minimally invasive way. By combining EUS with endobronchial ultrasound, operators can achieve more accurate results, especially in cancer staging and treatment planning. Overall, this approach is a key tool in treating thoracic and mediastinal conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14144836","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]],"date-time":"2025-07-08T07:31:57Z","timestamp":1751959917000},"page":"4836","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Endoscopic Ultrasound as a Diagnostic Tool for the Mediastinum and Thorax"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3751-2619","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Nikolic","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, University Medical Center Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9597-6377","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luc\u00eda","family":"Guilabert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gastroenterology Department, Dr. Balmis General University Hospital, Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n Sanitaria y Biom\u00e9dica de Alicante (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7280-1761","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Vanella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Pancreato-Biliary Endoscopy and Endosonography, Pancreas Translational and Clinical Research Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Catalina","family":"Vladut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, \u201cProf. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu\u201d Clinical Emergency Hospital, 011356 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"University of Medicine and Pharmacy \u201cCarol Davila\u201d, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"La Mattina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Broncopneumologia Interventistica, AOOR Villa Sofia Cervello, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Infantino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Unit, Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione, IRCCS\u2014ISMETT, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elio","family":"D\u2019Amore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Unit, Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione, IRCCS\u2014ISMETT, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8373-1487","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cecilie Siggaard","family":"Knoph","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Pancreatic Diseases, Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Aalborg University Hospital, 9100 Aalborg, Denmark"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9335-6740","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giacomo Emanuele Maria","family":"Rizzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Unit, Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione, IRCCS\u2014ISMETT, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"568","DOI":"10.1097\/JTO.0b013e3181a0d82e","article-title":"The IASLC lung cancer staging project: A proposal for a new international lymph node map in the forthcoming seventh edition of the TNM classification for lung cancer","volume":"4","author":"Rusch","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. 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