Left pulmonary artery

Dr Francis Deng ◉ and Assoc Prof Craig Hacking ◉ ◈ et al.

The left pulmonary artery (LPA) is one of the branches of the pulmonary trunk, branching at the level of the transthoracic plane of Ludwig. It is shorter than the right pulmonary artery and represents a direct posterior continuation of the pulmonary trunk. It arches posterosuperiorly over the superior margin of the left main bronchus and when posterior to the bronchus enters the superior aspect of the hilum of the left lung where it divides

The branching pattern is variable, much more so than that of the right pulmonary artery. In >90% of cases, there are 3-5 branches of the left pulmonary artery that vascularize the left upper lobe in various configurations ⁴.

The part supplying the left lower lobe may be called the descending or interlobar artery. In most cases, one or two branches are given off supplying the apical segment before splitting into two terminal divisions ⁵.

In the fetus, the ductus arteriosus connects the proximal left pulmonary artery to the undersurface of the isthmus of the aorta, allowing blood to bypass the lungs. At birth, the ductus closes, and over time fibroses to form the ligamentum arteriosum, which may calcify.

Related pathology

References

Anatomy: Thoracic

Anatomy: Thoracic

thoracic skeleton
- thoracic cage
  - ribs
    - typical ribs
    - atypical ribs
    - variant anatomy
  - costal cartilage
  - sternum
- thoracic spine
- articulations
muscles of the thorax
spaces of the thorax
thoracic viscera
- tracheobronchial tree
  - trachea
- lungs
- heart
  - cardiac chambers
  - heart valves
  - pectinate muscles
  - cardiac fibrous skeleton
    - aortic annulus
  - coronary arteries
    - coronary arterial dominance
    - myocardial segments
    - left main coronary artery (LMCA)
      - ramus intermedius artery (RI)
      - circumflex artery (LCx)
        
        obtuse marginal branches (OM1, OM2, etc))
        
        Kugel's artery
      - left anterior descending artery (LAD)
        
        diagonal branches (D1, D2, etc)
        
        septal perforators (S1, S2, etc)
    - right coronary artery (RCA)
      - conus artery
      - sinoatrial nodal artery
      - acute marginal branches (AM1, AM2, etc)
      - inferior interventricular artery (PDA)
      - posterior left ventricular artery (PLV)
    - congenital anomalies
  - innervation of the heart
  - fetal circulation
    - foramen ovale
    - fossa ovale
  - pericardium
    - pericardial space
    - oblique pericardial sinus
    - transverse pericardial sinus
    - pericardial recesses
      - aortic recesses
        
        superior aortic recess
        
        inferior aortic recess
      - pulmonic recesses
        
        right pulmonic recess
        
        left pulmonic recess
      - postcaval recess
      - pulmonary venous recesses
        
        right pulmonary venous recess
        
        left pulmonary venous recess
    - pericardial ligaments
    - epicardial fat pad
- esophagus
  - Zenker diverticulum
  - Killian-Jamieson diverticulum
- thymus
  - retrocaval thymus
- breast
  - nipple-areola complex
  - terminal ductal lobular unit
  - axillary tail
    - foramen of Langer
  - mammary fat
  - Montgomery glands
    - Montgomery tubercles
  - Cooper ligaments
    - crests of Duret
  - retromammary space (Chassaignac bursa)
  - lymphatic drainage
    - Sappey plexus
    - intramammary lymph nodes
  - variants
    - supranumerary nipple (polythelia)
    - accessory breast tissue (polymastia)
    - breast hypoplasia
    - amastia
    - amazia
blood supply of the thorax
- arteries
  - thoracic aorta (development)
  - pulmonary trunk
    - left pulmonary artery
      - aberrant left pulmonary artery
    - right pulmonary artery
- veins
  - superior vena cava (SVC)
    - superior cavoatrial junction
    - variant anatomy
  - inferior vena cava (IVC)
    - inferior cavoatrial junction
  - coronary veins
    - cardiac veins which drain into the coronary sinus
      - great cardiac vein
      - middle cardiac vein
      - small cardiac vein
      - posterior vein of the left ventricle
      - vein of Marshall (oblique vein of the left atrium)
    - anterior cardiac veins
    - venae cordis minimae (smallest cardiac veins or thebesian veins)
  - pulmonary veins
    - bronchial veins
  - thoracoepigastric vein
lymphatics
innervation of the thorax

Article information

rID: 49331

System: Chest, Vascular

Section: Anatomy

Synonyms or Alternate Spellings:

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Cases and figures

Figure 1: pulmonary arteriesFigure 1: pulmonary arteries

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