The Lungs

The lungs (Pulmones) occupy much the greater part of the thoracic cavity. They are accurately adapted to the walls of the cavity and the other organs contained therein. The two lungs are not alike in form or size, the right one being considerably larger than the left; the difference is chiefly in width, in conformity with the projection of the heart to the left.

The lung is soft, spongy, and highly elastic. It crepitates when pressed between the finger and thumb, and floats in water. When the thoracic cavity of the unpreserved subject is opened, the lung collapses immediately to about one-third of its original size, and loses its proper form; this is due to its highly elastic character and the fact that the tension of the lung tissue caused by the air pressure in its cavities has been relieved by the external air pressure.

The color varies according to the amount of blood contained in the lung. During life the lung has a pink color, but in subjects which have been bled for dissection it is light gray or faintly tinged with red. In unbled subjects it is dark red; the depth of color varies, and is often locally accentuated by gravitation of blood to the most dependent parts (hypostasis).

The fœtal lung, since it contains no air and has a relatively small blood-supply, differs from that of an animal which has breathed in the following respects: (1) It is much smaller; (2) it is firmer and does not crepitate; (3) it sinks in water; (4) it is pale gray in color.

In form the lungs are like casts of the pleural cavities in which they are situated. When well hardened in situ, their surfaces present impressions and elevations corresponding exactly to the structures with which they are in contact. Each lung presents two surfaces, two borders, a base, and an apex.

The costal (or external) surface (Facies costalis) is convex, and lies against the lateral thoracic wall, to which it is accurately adapted.

The mediastinal (or internal) surface (Facies mediastinalis) is less extensive than the costal surface. It is molded on the mediastinum and its contents. It presents a large cavity adapted to the pericardium and heart; this is termed the cardiac impression (Impressio cardiaca), and is larger and deeper on the left lung than on the right. Above and behind this is the hilus, at which the bronchus, vessels, and nerves enter the lungs. The bronchial lymph glands are also found here. Behind this the two lungs are adherent to each other over a triangular area. Above this is a groove for the œsophagus (Sulcus œsophageus), which is deepest on the left lung. A groove for the aorta (Sulcus aortæ) curves upward and backward over the hilus, and passes backward near the dorsal border of the lung; the curved part of the groove for the aortic arch is absent on the right lung, on which there is a groove for the vena azygos. Anteriorly there are grooves for the trachea, the anterior aorta, the anterior vena cava, and other vessels.

The dorsal (or superior) border (Margo obtusus) is long, thick, and rounded; it lies in the groove alongside of the bodies of the thoracic vertebræ.

The ventral (or inferior) border (Margo acutus) is thin and short. It presents, opposite to the heart, the cardiac notch (Incisura cardiaca). On the left lung this notch is opposite to the third, fourth, and fifth ribs, so that a considerable area of the pericardium here lies in direct contact with the chest-wall. On the right lung the notch is less extensive, and is an intercostal space further forward.

The base of the lung (Basis pulmonis) is oval in outline; its surface (Facies diaphragmatica) is deeply concave in adaptation to the thoracic surface of the diaphragm. Laterally and posteriorly it is limited by a thin basal border which fits into the narrow recess (Sinus phrenico-costalis) between the diaphragm and the chest-wall. The position of this border, of course, varies during respiration. In the deepest inspiration it may reach the bottom of this recess; in ordinary inspiration it lies about four or five inches (ca. 10 to 12 cm.) from the costal arch, to which it is nearly parallel; in ordinary expiration it lies about twice as far from the costal arch.

The apex of the lung (Apex pulmonis) is prismatic, narrow, and flattened transversely. It is partially marked off from the rest of the lung by the cardiac notch. It curves downward, and is related internally to the anterior mediastinum and behind to the anterior part of the pericardium.

In the horse the lungs are not divided into distinct lobes by deep fissures, as in most mammals. In the case of the left lung there is no lobation, but the right lung presents a mediastinal lobe, separated from the body of the lung by a fissure which forms in its dorsal part a canal for the posterior vena cava and the right phrenic nerve, inclosed in a special fold of the right pleura.

The root of the lung (Radix pulmonis) is composed of the structures which enter or leave the lung at the hilus on the mediastinal surface. These are: (1) The bronchus; (2) the pulmonary artery; (3) the pulmonary veins; (4) the bronchial artery; (5) the pulmonary nerves; (6) the lymph vessels, which open into the bronchial lymph glands. The bronchus is situated dorsally, with the bronchial artery on its upper surface and the pulmonary artery immediately below it. The pulmonary veins lie chiefly below and behind the artery.

The lobulation of the lungs is not very evident on account of the small amount of interlobular tissue. The lobules appear on the surface or on sections as irregular polygonal areas of different sizes.

Bronchial Branches.—Each bronchus at its entrance into the lung gives off a branch to the apex of the lung. It is then continued backward as the main stem bronchus, parallel with the dorsal border of the lung, giving off branches (Rami bronchiales) in monopodic fashion; these branch similarly and reach all parts of the lung. The right bronchus gives off a special branch to the mediastinal lobe.

The arrangement of the larger bronchi is not the same in the two lungs. The right bronchus, after detaching the apical branch, gives off a large ventral branch which shortly bifurcates. One of the divisions passes ventrally into the part of the lung behind the cardiac notch (homologue of cardiac lobe), while the other passes downward and backward into the lower part of the base. The stem bronchus then gives off the branch to the mediastinal lobe, and divides, about six inches from the hilus of the lung, into two nearly equal branches; the dorsal branch is a direct continuation of the stem, the ventral one passes into the middle part of the base. The left bronchus, after a short course, divides into two nearly equal branches. The dorsal branch may be regarded as the continuation of the stem; it passes backward parallel with the dorsal border of the lung, giving off a ventral branch much further back than in the right lung. The ventral division of the stem bronchus divides, after a very short course, into two branches; the anterior one passes ventrally into the homologue of the cardiac lobe, while the posterior one passes downward and backward into the base of the lung.

The structure of the larger bronchial tubes is, in general, similar to that of the trachea. Their walls contain irregular plates of cartilage instead of rings. There is a continuous layer of unstriped muscle, composed of circularly arranged bundles. The mucous membrane presents numerous longitudinal folds; it contains many elastic fibers, mucous glands, and lymph nodules, and is lined by ciliated columnar epithelium. As the tubes diminish in size the coats become thinner and the cartilages smaller; in tubes about 1 mm. in diameter the cartilages and mucous glands are absent.

By repeated branching the interlobular bronchi are formed, and from these arise the lobular bronchioles. The latter enter a lobule and branch within it, forming the respiratory bronchioles; these give off the alveolar ducts, the walls of which are pouched out to form hemispherical diverticula, the alveoli or air-cells.

A lobule of the lung, the unit of lung structure, is made up of a lobular bronchiole with its branches, and their air-cells, blood- and lymph vessels, and nerves. Between the lobules is the interlobular tissue, which forms the supporting framework of the lung.

Vessels of the Lungs.—The branches of the pulmonary artery carry venous blood to the lungs. They accompany the bronchi, and form rich capillary plexuses on the walls of the alveoli. Here the blood is arterialized, and is returned to the heart by the pulmonary veins. The bronchial arteries are relatively small vessels which carry arterial blood for the nutrition of the lungs. The branches of these arteries accompany the bronchial ramifications as far as the alveolar ducts, but do not extend to the alveoli. The œsophageal artery also supplies pulmonary branches (in the horse) which reach the lung by way of the ligament of the latter. These branches vary much in size, and ramify chiefly in the subpleural tissue of the basal part of the lung. The lymph vessels are numerous, and are arranged in two sets. The superficial set forms close networks in and under the pleura, while the deep set accompanies the bronchi and pulmonary vessels. All converge to the root of the lung and enter the bronchial lymph glands.

Nerve-supply.—The pulmonary nerves come from the vagus and sympathetic nerves. They enter at the hilus and supply branches to the bronchial arteries and the air-tubes.