The Lungs

The difference in size between the two lungs is greater than in the horse, the right lung weighing about half as much again as the left one. The average weight of the lungs is about 7½ pounds (ca. 3 to 4 kg.); they form about ¹⁄₁₇₀ of the body-weight.

They are divided into lobes by deep fissures (Incisuræ interlobares). The left lung is divided into three lobes, named from before backward apical, cardiac, and diaphragmatic. The right lung has four or five lobes; the apical lobe is much larger than that of the left lung, and occupies the space in front of the pericardium, pushing the mediastinum against the left wall; the mediastinal lobe resembles that of the horse, while the cardiac lobe is often divided by a fissure into two parts. The apical lobe of the right lung receives a special bronchus from the trachea opposite the third rib. The right lung is adherent to the trachea from the second rib backward.

The interlobar fissures begin at the ventral margin of the lung and pass toward the root. Those of the left lung lie opposite to the fourth and sixth ribs. The diaphragmatic lobe is the largest, and has the form of a three-sided pyramid with its base resting on the diaphragm. The cardiac lobe is prismatic and forms the posterior margin of the cardiac notch; its long axis corresponds to the fifth rib. The apical lobe of the left lung is small and pointed; its ventral margin lies on the pulmonary artery and the anterior aorta; below this the space in front of the heart is occupied by the apical lobe of the right lung. The cardiac lobe of the right lung is much larger than that of the left lung, and covers the right face of the pericardium, so that the latter has no contact with the lateral wall of the thorax.

The lobulation is very distinct on account of the extremely large amount of interlobular tissue.

In the sheep the costal attachment of the diaphragm resembles that of the horse, and the basal part of the lung corresponds thereto. The lobation of the lungs resembles that of the ox, but the lobulation is very indistinct. The pleural sacs extend under the first lumbar vertebra.