A new anatomical classification of the bronchial arteries based on the spatial relationships to the esophagus and the tracheobronchus.
PURPOSE
To reveal the patterns of the mediastinal course of the bronchial arteries (BAs).


METHODS
The BAs were dissected to determine the positional relationships of their mediastinal courses with the tracheobronchus and the esophagus in 72 adult cadavers.


RESULTS
The mediastinal courses of the 227 BAs found in this study were classified into 4 types. There were 61 and 163 BAs passing the right side (Type I) and the left side (Type II reaching dorsal surface (n = 98), or Type III reaching ventral surface (n = 65) of the tracheobronchus) of the esophagus, respectively. Three BAs originated from the subclavian artery (Type IV). All Type I BAs were right BAs, whereas 91.8% of the Type II BAs were left BAs. However, 43.1 and 56.9% of the Type III BAs were the right and left BAs, respectively.


CONCLUSION
The classification of the mediastinal course of the BAs determined by the spatial relationships to the tracheobronchus and the esophagus may be clinically useful, because each category of this classification can be determined during esophagectomy and indicates whether the BA is a right or left BA.
['Hayasaka|Ken|K|', 'Ishida|Hajime|H|', 'Kimura|Ryosuke|R|', 'Nishimaki|Tadashi|T|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D001980:Bronchi D001981:Bronchial Arteries D002102:Cadaver D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms D016629:Esophagectomy D004947:Esophagus D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008197:Lymph Node Excision D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography D014132:Trachea
Bronchial artery Esophagectomy Anatomy