Right main bronchus | |
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Conducting passages | |
Front view of cartilages of larynx, trachea, and bronchi | |
Latin | bronchus principalis dexter |
Gray's | subject #237 1085 |
The right main bronchus (or right primary bronchus, or right principal bronchus) is a bronchus of the respiratory system. It is wider, shorter, and more vertical in direction than the left. It is about 2.5 cm long, and enters the right lung nearly opposite the fifth thoracic vertebra.
The azygos vein arches over it from behind; and the right pulmonary artery lies at first below and then in front of it.
About 2 cm from its commencement it gives off a branch to the upper lobe of the right lung.
This is termed the eparterial branch of the bronchus, because it arises above the right pulmonary artery.
The bronchus now passes below the artery, and is known as the hyparterial branch; it divides into two branches for the middle and lower lobes.
If a foreign body in the airway passes through the trachea, it will most likely enter the right main bronchus instead of the left, due to the straighter alignment of the right bronchus to the trachea.
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In 0.1 to 5% of people there is a right superior lobe bronchus arising from the main stem bronchus prior to the carina. This is known as a tracheal bronchus, and is thought to be due to abnormal embryogenesis. It can have multiple variations and, although usually symptomatic, can be the root cause of pulmonary disease such a recurrent infection. In such case resection is often curative[1] .[2]
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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