Parietal pleura

The parietal pleura is the portion of the pleura external to the visceral pleura lines the inner surface of the chest wall, covers the diaphragm, and is reflected over the mediastinum (the structures occupying the middle of the thorax).  The parietal pleura is derived from the mesoderm.

The parietal pleura is attached to the wall of the thoracic cavity and innervated by the intercostal nerves and phrenic nerve. The parietal pleura is highly sensitive to pain, while the visceral pleura is not (due to its autonomic innervation).

The parietal pleura receives its blood supply from the intercostal arteries, which also supply the overlying body wall.

Different portions of the parietal pleura are named according to their position in the thorax:

• The cervical pleura or pleural cupola which rises into the neck above the apex of the lung.

• The costal pleura which is the portion that lines the inner surfaces of the ribs and intercostal spaces.

• The diaphragmatic pleura which lines the convex surface of the diaphragm.

• The mediastinal pleura in the midline, which lines the other thoracic viscera.