Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Apr;90(4):608-611.
doi: 10.1111/ans.15553. Epub 2019 Nov 10.

Variations in pulmonary fissural anatomy: a medicolegal autopsy study of 256 cases

Korkut Bostanci  1 , Mehmet Oguzhan Ozyurtkan  2 , Mehmet Oguz Polat  3 , Hasan Batirel  1 , Tunc Lacin  1 , Mustafa Yuksel  1 , Davor Stamenovic  4
Affiliations

Variations in pulmonary fissural anatomy: a medicolegal autopsy study of 256 cases

Korkut Bostanci et al. ANZ J Surg. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Background: We aimed to document the anatomical variations of pulmonary fissures found during routine forensic autopsies.

Methods: A total of 256 pairs of lungs were investigated. Presence of any variant and accessory fissures was noted.

Results: Seventy-seven percent of the lungs had anatomical variations. In about 2/3 of the cases, oblique fissures were incomplete on both sides. The horizontal fissure was incomplete in 68.4%, and absent in 4.3% of the lungs. Twelve left lungs (4.7%) had a horizontal fissure. Accessory fissures were observed in 35 lungs (13.7%). Azygos lobe variations were detected in 1.7% of the lungs. A superior accessory fissure was present in 6.2% and 2% of right and left lungs, respectively.

Conclusion: This and previous similar studies demonstrate the existence of several different anatomical fissural variations in the lungs. Clinicians, radiologists and surgeons should keep these in mind to better evaluate and treat their patients.

Keywords: anatomy; autopsy; fissures; lobes.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Shah P, Johnson D, Stranding S. Thorax. In: Gray's Anatomy, 39th edn. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 2005; 1068-9.
    1. Godfrey EU, Garba TM, Habib MM, Ogugua EA. Variation in the lobar pattern of the right and left lungs: a case report. Australas. Med. J. 2013; 6: 511-4.
    1. George BM, Nayak SB, Marpalli S. Morphological variations of the lungs: a study conducted on Indian cadavers. Anat. Cell Biol. 2014; 47: 253-8.
    1. Sciurba FC, Ernst A, Herth FJ et al. A randomized study of endobronchial valves for advanced emphysema. N. Engl. J. Med. 2013; 363: 1233-44.
    1. Sedlackova Z, Ctrtlik F, Herman M. Prevalence of incomplete interlobar fissures of the lung. Biomed. Pap. Med. Fac. Univ. Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub. 2016; 160: 491-4.

LinkOut - more resources