In recent years vascular anomalies of the lung, particularly arteriovenous aneurysms, have aroused a fair amount of interest. This is also apparent from the increasing number of reports in the literature. As far as arteriovenous aneurysms are concerned, this increased attention is due to the accumulated knowledge of the symptoms often so striking as to permit a clinical diagnosis. Moreover, increased experience and improved techniques now permit a definite x-ray diagnosis of vascular anomalies whose structural or topographical details can be brought out more distinctly by angiography. This livelier interest in the condition is, however, probably due mainly to the fact the disease can now be treated successfully by operation.The most common and most important vascular malformations of the lung are arteriovenous aneurysms in which one or more saccular vessel formations are in free communication with the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary vein and thereby shunt a varying amount of the blood around the pulmonary circulation. The short-circuited blood is thereby deprived of oxygenation and typical symptoms results. Other less common types of aneurysms without any functional disturbance of the pulmonary circulation are seen in aberrant anastomoses between the branches of the thoracic aorta and those of the pulmonary vein. Aneurysmal dilatations of branches of the pulmonary artery without involvement of the pulmonary vein are likewise occasionally observed. Another abnormity of the pulmonary vessels is the anomalous drainage of the lungs to the main venous system ot to the right atrium.The clinical features of arteriovenous aneurysms in the pulmonary circulation are mainly an expression of functional disorders produced by the shunt. After the exclusion of other causes, especially of congenital malformation of the heart, a clinical diagnosis can be established with a high degree of probability. The typical symptoms are cyanosis, dyspnea often only on
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