Tri‐lobed left lung with corresponding additional secondary lobar bronchi: A case report on anatomic variation

Abstract

Fissures of the lung separate bronchopulmonary segments to form detachment planes for distention upon respiration and localization of pulmonary lesions. Knowledge of variations in lung fissures is necessary for locating lobes of the lung to exactly interpret radiographs, computed tomography scans, and thorough planning of surgical procedures. 24 pairs of lungs obtained from routine dissection of adult formalin fixed cadavers used for first‐year regional anatomy course at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine were used in this study. There was a total of 12 male and 12 female cadavers with an average age of 82 years. The lungs were observed and photographed for presence or absence of fissures and lobes. We report a case of a tri‐lobed left lung with a complete horizontal fissure inferior to the left root of the lung, and each lobe features its own independent secondary lobar bronchus. The corresponding right lung features normal fissures and lobes. 8 additional right lobes had incomplete accessory fissures measuring <5cm in length with greatest depth of 2cm. 6 additional left lobes had incomplete accessory (4) and horizontal (2) fissures of <4cm in length with greatest depth of 2cm. Collectively, our results demonstrate a lung variation for awareness and for interpretation of radiological images and locating the bronchopulmonary segments in lobectomies, bronchoscopies, and segmental resection.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.