Pulmonary Vascular System and Pulmonary Hilum

A surgeon must understand both normal anatomy and abnormal anatomy that results from developmental defects and pathologic processes. This article summarizes the normal anatomy of the pulmonary arteries and veins and bronchial arteries, emphasizing the normal anatomy and the anatomic variants that are the most common and are the most clinically relevant from a thoracic surgeon's perspective. Developmental abnormalities (such as partial anomalous pulmonary venous return, scimitar syndrome, sequestration, arteriovenous malformation) and pathologic vascular conditions (such as pulmonary artery aneurism, Swyer-James syndrome) are beyond the scope of this article.