The heart is anterior to the esophagus, so the transesophageal echo (TEE) probe is facing anteriorly for the majority of the time; however, every once in a while when rotating clockwise/counter-clockwise, I’ll face posterior enough to visualize the spinal column.
From a midesophageal region, one can advance and withdraw the TEE probe to see varying spinal cord levels. In the video, the spinal cord is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid in the subarachnoid space with the labeled epidural space posteriorly. Anteriorly, one can appreciate the vertebral body.
