BRONCHIAL ARTERIES IN THE PIG BEFORE AND AFTER PERMANENT PULMONARY-ARTERY OCCLUSION

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. The authors study the bronchial arteries in the adult pig before and after pulmonary artery occlusion, METHODS. Th e bronchial artery anatomy was analyzed on postmortem aortograms in si x pigs in group 1, In 20 animals in group 2, the left diaphragmatic lo bar pulmonary artery (DLPA) was proximally (n = 12), medially (n = 5), or distally (n = 3) occluded via angiographic procedures; an unintent ional embolization of coils in the right DLPA led to an incomplete pul monary arterial occlusion, Eight to 12 weeks later, postmortem bronchi al angiograms and pathologic studies were performed systematically in group 2, RESULTS. Outcomes in group 1 were: (A) a common trunk to the right and left bronchial arteries found in five animals, and (B) bronc hopulmonary anastomoses found in the five lungs optimally injected, Ou tcomes in group 2 were: (A) the absence of pulmonary infarct and the d evelopment of a collateral bronchial supply were constant in the left lung; (B) the left DLPAs were patent beyond the coils and opacified vi a bronchopulmonary anastomoses; (C) dilated subpleural bronchial arter ies were constant in the interlobular septa of the lung parenchyma dev oid of pulmonary arterial perfusion; (D) the right bronchial arteries were normal after incomplete pulmonary artery occlusion. CONCLUSIONS. Because of an anastomosed dual circulation, the pig is a reliable expe rimental model for interventional and surgical procedures.