Abstract
The drainage pattern and the structure of the pulmonary veins have been described quantitatively in a series of fetal and child lungs after injection of the veins with a radio-opaque medium. The drainage pattern of the pre-acinar region is complete by half-way through gestation and corresponds with the growth of the pulmonary arteries. There is new growth of veins within the acinus during childhood. Four types of veins arising from five peripheral sites have been described. The change in dimensions with age have also been measured. A measurable muscle layer could not be found in the walls of the veins before birth though some muscle cells were present from 28 weeks of gestation. The thickness of the muscle coat in any vein was similar at birth and in a 3- and 10-year-old child and in all cases was less than in a pulmonary artery of the same size. The muscle cells were of smaller diameter in the veins than in the arteries. Along any venous pathway between a non-muscular and muscular structure was a region where part of the wall was muscular: these veins were termed partially muscular. Their distribution by size was similar at all ages.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- BUCHER U., REID L. Development of the intrasegmental bronchial tree: the pattern of branching and development of cartilage at various stages of intra-uterine life. Thorax. 1961 Sep;16:207–218. doi: 10.1136/thx.16.3.207. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DAMMANN J. F., Jr, FERENCZ C. The significance of the pulmonary vascular bed in congenital heart disease. I. Normal lungs. II. Malformations of the heart in which there is pulmonary stenosis. Am Heart J. 1956 Jul;52(1):7–17. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(56)90115-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DEPASQUALE N. P., HYMAN A. L., BURCH G. E. RESPONSE OF THE PULMONARY VEIN TO RAPID BLOOD TRANSFUSION IN INTACT DOGS. J Lab Clin Med. 1965 Jan;65:122–131. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Davies G., Reid L. Growth of the alveoli and pulmonary arteries in childhood. Thorax. 1970 Nov;25(6):669–681. doi: 10.1136/thx.25.6.669. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- ELLIOTT F. M., REID L. SOME NEW FACTS ABOUT THE PULMONARY ARTERY AND ITS BRANCHING PATTERN. Clin Radiol. 1965 Jul;16:193–198. doi: 10.1016/s0009-9260(65)80042-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- HAYWARD J., REID L. M. Observations on the anatomy of the intrasegmental bronchial tree. Thorax. 1952 Mar;7(1):89–97. doi: 10.1136/thx.7.1.89. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hislop A., Reid L. New pathological findings in emphysema of childhood. 1. Polyalveolar lobe with emphysema. Thorax. 1970 Nov;25(6):682–690. doi: 10.1136/thx.25.6.682. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hyman A. L. The direct effects of vasoactive agents on pulmonary veins. Studies of responses to acetylcholine, serotonin, histamine and isoproterenol in intact dogs. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1969 Jul;168(1):96–105. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- NEILL C. A. Development of the pulmonary veins; with reference to the embryology of anomalies of pulmonary venous return. Pediatrics. 1956 Dec;18(6):880–887. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- RUDOLPH A. M. Pulmonary venomotor activity. Med Thorac. 1962;19:376–382. doi: 10.1159/000192241. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Samuelson A., Becker A. E., Wagenvoort C. A. A morphometric study of pulmonary veins in normal infants and infants with congenital heart disease. Arch Pathol. 1970 Aug;90(2):112–116. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smiley R. H., Jaques W. E., Campbell G. S. Pulmonary vascular changes in lung lobes with reversed pulmonary blood flow. Surgery. 1966 Apr;59(4):529–533. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wagenvoort C. A. Morphologic changes in intrapulmonary veins. Hum Pathol. 1970 Jun;1(2):205–213. doi: 10.1016/s0046-8177(70)80034-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]