Pulmonary arteries
Arteriae pulmonales
Definition
The pulmonary arteries are vessels arising from the pulmonary trunk, which itself originates from the right ventricle, and are responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood to the lungs for gas exchange.
The pulmonary trunk divides into:
Right pulmonary artery: generally longer and of larger diameter; it courses toward the right lung and subdivides into lobar branches supplying the cranial, middle, caudal, and accessory lobes (in domestic carnivores).
Left pulmonary artery: shorter and of smaller caliber; it distributes to the cranial and caudal lobes of the left lung.
References
König HE, Lieibich HG. Veterinary Anatomy of Domestic mammals, 6th edition, Schattauer, Stuttgart, 2014.
Evans HE, de Lahunta A. Miller’s anatomy of the dog, 4th edition, Elsevier Saunders, St Louis, 2012.
