Morphological and embryological characteristics of bronchial arteries in the rat

Abstract

There have been no previous reports of detailed macroscopic findings of the bronchial arteries, the nutrial vessels of the lungs. Also, previously, very little was known about the developmental processes of the bronchial arteries in rats and other laboratory animals. In the present study, we dissected bronchial arteries of adult rats from their origin to the pulmonary hilus, and examined developmental processes of bronchial arteries in a series of rat embryos. We observed one right bronchial artery and one left bronchial artery. The right artery arose from the right highest intercostal artery, ran together with the right vagus nerve along the right side of the trachea and right principal bronchus and reached the pulmonary hilus. The left artery arose from the left internal thoracic artery, ran along the left vagus nerve on the ventral surface of the thoracic aorta, and reached the dorsal surface of the left principal bronchus. In a series of 12 to 20.5-day-old rat embryos, the right bronchial artery was clearly identified in 20.5, 18.5, and 16.5-day-old embryos. In a 15.5-day-old embryo, a vessel corresponding to the right bronchial artery was recognized within the capillary plexus extending along the right lateral surface of the bronchus. In ontogenetic development, there appears to be little difference in completion time of the extrapulmonary part of the bronchial arteries between humans and rats.

A Novel Dual Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Technique Improves Immediate Outcomes in an Experimental Model of Lung Transplantation

“…To perfuse the bronchial circulation synchronously with the pulmonary circulation, we modified the standard EVLP system to obtain a novel, dual‐perfusion EVLP system (dual EVLP) (Figure ). A preliminary anatomical analysis revealed that the bronchial arteries in rats arise from the right and left subclavian arteries (Figure S1). Therefore, after removal of the heart‐lung block, the distal portions of both subclavian arteries, and other large branches from aortic arch, including the carotid arteries, were ligated, and then bronchial artery perfusion was performed on EVLP in a retrograde fashion through an additional cannula inserted into descending aorta (Figure ).…”

Animal models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…The bronchial arterial supply is known to be important in the overall lung reaction to injury, and thus anatomy and distribution are important in any animal model. There is considerable person-to-person variation in the human bronchial artery supply (99,135). These arteries invest the bronchi and extend throughout the length of the bronchial tree, with communication between the bronchial and pulmonary circulations in the terminal respiratory unit.…”

“…In mice (116), a bronchial artery supply exists, and there are interconnections between the two vascular systems at the level of the capillaries. Rats have a relatively similar system to humans, but with slightly different vascular derivations (135).…”