Pulmonary vascular anatomy & anatomical variants

Abstract

The vessels supplying the lungs include the pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins, and bronchial arteries. The segmental and sub segmental pulmonary arteries parallel the bronchi and are named according to the bronchopulmonary segments they supply. There are however considerable anatomic variations, particularly in the upper lobes with variations in number or presence of accessory arteries from adjacent segments. The subsegmental pulmonary vein branches, run within interlobular septa and do not parallel the segmental or sub segmental pulmonary artery branches and bronchi. They converge to form right and left superior and inferior pulmonary veins which drain into the left atrium. Knowledge of normal and variant anatomy on cross-sectional and angiographic images is essential for accurate diagnosis of vascular pathology and aids planning of interventional procedures.

Radiation dose reduction considerations and imaging patterns of ground glass opacities in coronavirus: risk of over exposure in computed tomography

“…The acinus is located within the SPL. It is a portion of lung distal to a terminal bronchiole (the last purely conducting airway) and is supplied by a first-order respiratory bronchiole or bronchioles [22,23]. Acini size ranges from 6 to 10 mm in diameter [24].…”

“…The ILS consists of connective tissue, house pulmonary veins, and lymphatics and belongs to the peripheral interstitial fiber system. Interestingly, the pulmonary veins traverse within ILS and not parallel to the segmental or sub-segmental pulmonary artery branches and bronchi [22]. ILS are well matured in the lung periphery and most abundant in the apices of the lungs.…”

Common and Uncommon Variations of Pulmonary Venous Drainage in Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Lobectomy

“…These variants, usually seen on the right side, mainly include accessory superior segment right lower lobe pulmonary vein and accessory middle lobe pulmonary vein or right upper lobe pulmonary vein. 10 To the best of our knowledge, some variations in pulmonary venous anatomy, observed in this report during VATS major lung resections, have not been published in the recent international literature and their preprocedural recognition is essential to avoid inadvertent injuries. Two patients had crossing veins at interlobar planes: a right basal segmental vein (V 7 ) draining into the middle lobe pulmonary vein and one of the two venous branches from superior segment of right lower lobe (V 6 ) draining into the superior pulmonary vein (►Fig.…”

Clinical Value of Noncontrast‐Enhanced Radial Quiescent‐Interval Slice‐Selective (QISS) Magnetic Resonance Angiography for the Diagnosis of Acute Pulmonary Embolism Compared to Contrast‐Enhanced Computed Tomography and Cartesian Balanced Steady‐State Free Precession

“…The pulmonary arterial tree was anatomically divided into four sections: central arteries (main pulmonary artery, right and left pulmonary artery), lobar branches (right and left side), segmental branches, and subsegmental branches. However, we evaluated segmental and subsegmental branches together as peripheral regions due to the great variation in the subsegmental pulmonary arterial pattern 23,24 . For assessing diagnostic quality, the pulmonary arterial tree was divided into 25 branches according to the Boyden classification of bronchi 25 .…”