Bronchial artery

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Artery: Bronchial artery
Bronchial artery labeled at center left.
Latin rami bronchiales partis thoracicae aortae, arteriae bronchiales
Gray's subject #153 600
Supplies lungs
Source thoracic aorta
Vein Bronchial veins
Dorlands/Elsevier r_02/12689141

In human anatomy, the bronchial arteries help supply the lungs with oxygenated blood. Although there is much variation, there are usually two bronchial arteries that run to the left lung, and one to the right lung.

Contents

[edit] Origin

The left bronchial arteries usually arise directly from the thoracic aorta.

The single right bronchial artery usually arises from one of the following:

[edit] Distribution to lung

The bronchial arteries supply blood to the bronchi and connective tissue of the lungs. They travel with and branch with the bronchi, ending about at the level of the repiratory bronchioles. They anastomose with the branches of the pulmonary arteries, and together, they supply the visceral pleura of the lung in the process.

Note that much of the blood supplied by the bronchial arteries is returned via the pulmonary veins rather than the bronchial veins.

[edit] Comparison with pulmonary arteries

It is easy to confuse the bronchial arteries with the pulmonary arteries, because they both supply the lungs with blood, but there are important differences:

pulmonary arteries supplies deoxygenated blood pumped from the right ventricle pulmonary circulation relatively large
bronchial arteries supplies oxygenated blood pumped from the left ventricle systemic circulation relatively small

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Arteries of thorax, abdomen, and pelvis edit

pulmonary - aorta - ascending aorta
right coronary (sinuatrial nodal, atrioventricular nodal, atrial, right marginal, posterior interventricular)
left coronary (anterior interventricular, left circumflex, left marginal)
aortic arch - brachiocephalic - thyreoidea ima - common carotid | (Gray's s141-Gray's s143)

DESCENDING AORTA / THORACIC AORTA: bronchial - esophageal - posterior intercostal - subcostal | (Gray's s153)

ABDOMINAL AORTA: Anterior - celiac: left gastric

splenic: pancreatic branches (arteria pancreatica magna) - short gastric - left gastro-omental

common hepatic: proper hepatic (cystic), right gastric, gastroduodenal (right gastro-omental, superior pancreaticoduodenal)

superior mesenteric: inferior pancreaticoduodenal - intestinal - ileocolic (appendicular) - right colic - middle colic

inferior mesenteric: left colic - sigmoid - superior rectal

Posterior - Visceral: middle suprarenal - renal (inferior suprarenal) - testicular/ovarian - Parietal: inferior phrenic (superior suprarenal) - lumbar - median sacral

Terminal branches: common iliac - marginal - internal iliac | (Gray's s154)

INTERNAL ILIAC: Anterior: umbilical (superior vesical, to ductus deferens) - inferior vesical - middle rectal - uterine (azygos of the vagina) - vaginal - obturator
internal pudendal: (inferior rectal, perineal, artery of the urethral bulb, urethral, deep artery of the penis, dorsal artery of the penis)
inferior gluteal (accompanying of ischiadic nerve, crucial anastomosis)
Posterior: iliolumbar - lateral sacral - superior gluteal | (Gray's s155)

EXTERNAL ILIAC: inferior epigastric (cremasteric) - deep circumflex iliac | (Gray's s156)