In the superior portion of the posterior mediastinum, the trunks are anterior to the neck of the ribs. Inferiorly, they become more medial in position until they lie on the lateral aspect of the vertebral bodies. The sympathetic trunks leave the thorax by passing posterior to the diaphragm under the medial arcuate ligament or through the crura of the diaphragm. Throughout their course the trunks are covered by parietal pleura.
Branches from the ganglia