Right main bronchus
Bronchus principalis dexter
Definition
The right main bronchus (Right mainstem bronchus; RMSB) is one of the two primary divisions of the trachea. It extends from the carina the point where the trachea bifurcates to the origin of the right upper lobe bronchus, after which it continues as the bronchus intermedius.
Key anatomical features:
Shorter than the left main bronchus the mean length is approximately 1.1 cm (range 02.9 cm) on bronchography, though CT-based measurements report means of approximately 25-29 mm depending on the measurement method used. Many anatomy textbooks overestimate its length at 2.05.0 cm.
Wider and more vertically oriented than the left main bronchus, which makes it the more common site for aspiration of foreign bodies.
https://www.imaios.com/en/e-anatomy/anatomical-structures/carina-of-trachea-1541213016#from=2
Classified as an eparterial bronchus, meaning its first branch (the right upper lobe bronchus) passes superior to the right pulmonary artery.
Courses behind the right pulmonary artery and the right superior pulmonary vein, with close proximity to all ipsilateral pulmonary veins.
The azygos vein arches over it from behind; and the right pulmonary artery lies at first below and then in front of it.
For classification purposes in tracheobronchomalacia, the right mainstem bronchus is divided into two segments (R1 and R2, proximal to distal), both of which can be compressed anteriorly by the right pulmonary artery.
After giving off the right upper lobe bronchus, the right main bronchus continues as the bronchus intermedius, which subsequently bifurcates into the right middle lobe bronchus and the right lower lobe bronchus:
Intermediate bronchus (term not include in Terminologia Anatomica and Boyden's classification but widely used)
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