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 The bronchial artery anatomy was analyzed on postmortem aortograms in six pigs in group 1. In 20 animals in group 2, the left diaphragmatic lobar pulmonary artery (DLPA) was proximally (n = 12), medially (n = 5), or distally (n = 3) occluded via angiographic procedures; an unintentional embolization of coils in the right DLPA led to an incomplete pulmonary arterial occlusion. Eight to 12 weeks later, postmortem bronchial 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) bronchopulmonary anastomoses found in the five lungs optimally injected. Outcomes in group 2 were: (A) the absence of pulmonary infarct and the development of a collateral bronchial supply were constant in the left lung;(B) the left DLPAs were patent beyond the coils and opacified via bronchopulmonary anastomoses; (C) dilated subpleural bronchial arteries were constant in the interlobular septa of the lung parencyma devoid 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 experimental model for interventional and surgical procedures.