Radiology, Vol 155, 295-298, Copyright © 1985 by Radiological Society of North America
The vascular converging points of the right pulmonary hilus and their diagnostic significance
C Don and DI Hammond
The shadows of the right descending pulmonary artery, the superior
pulmonary vein crossing it, the middle lobe artery, and branches of the
artery supplying the superior segment of the lower lobe converge distinctly
at the right hilus. Because the right pulmonary artery bifurcates within
the mediastinum, the arteries of the right upper lobe form a second though
less obvious converging point above this level. In contrast, the left
pulmonary artery does not bifurcate until it reaches the left hilus,
providing only a single converging point on that side. A survey of 100
chest radiographs showed that the two converging points on the right could
be distinguished in 95 cases, with the upper one being situated somewhat
above the single point on the left in 83. In the absence of lobar
resection, finding only one converging point on the right is suggestive of
collapse of either the upper or lower lobe, whereas visualization of both
points excludes major atelectasis.
