Unusual origin and course of the left pulmonary artery

An infant with a cardiac murmur was found to have a patent arterial duct an d an anomalous left pulmonary artery. The duct was surgically ligated at th e age of 8 months, and she remained free of cardiac or respiratory symptoms up to her death at 6 years from an unrelated intestinal condition. An anom aly was discovered at post mortem examination; the left pulmonary artery ar ose from the right pulmonary artery and passed behind the trachea to enter the left lung. We describe and illustrate the anatomic features of this wel l-recognized entity, discuss the embryological substrate, and refer to the clinical implications. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.