Left lung

Left lung refers to one of the two lungs in the human thorax, situated in the left hemithorax. It is slightly smaller than the right lung due to the cardiac notch a concavity on its medial surface that accommodates the heart.

The left lung is divided into two lobes, an upper and a lower, by an interlobular fissure, which extends from the costal to the mediastinal surface of the lung both above and below the hilus. As seen on the surface, this fissure begins on the mediastinal surface of the lung at the upper and posterior part of the hilus, and runs backward and upward to the posterior border, which it crosses at a point about 6 cm. below the apex. It then extends downward and forward over the costal surface, and reaches the lower border a little behind its anterior extremity, and its further course can be followed upward and backward across the mediastinal surface as far as the lower part of the hilus.

The superior lobe lies above and in front of this fissure, and includes the apex, the anterior border, and a considerable part of the costal surface and the greater part of the mediastinal surface of the lung.

The inferior lobe, the larger of the two, is situated below and behind the fissure, and comprises almost the whole of the base, a large portion of the costal surface, and the greater part of the posterior border.

The left lung typically has 8-9 bronchopulmonary segments (compared to 10 on the right), as some segments are often fused. It is enveloped by the visceral pleura and sits within the pleural cavity, separated from the chest wall by the parietal pleura and the pleural space.