Corrosion cast studies of the bronchial arteries.

The bronchial a. are the nutrient vessels of the lung. Despite being high pressure (systemic) vessels they are of very small size compared to the pulmonary a. and their side branches are normally so minute that they are extremely difficult to visualize during in vivo studies--yet these branches also supply many important mediastinal structures including the esophagus, trachea, lymph nodes, pericardium, aorta, and mediastinal parietal pleura. The bronchial a. can react vigorously to pathological changes in the lung by hypertrophy and increased flow and their precise anatomy has become of increasing importance with the development of interventional techniques involving the systemic circulation of the lungs. In order to demonstrate the distribution and extent of these vessels we have adopted a casting technique using injections of various colors of latex to distinguish between pulmonary a. and veins, bronchial a. and veins and their connections with the pulmonary vascular bed in both normal and diseased lungs.