Human Anatomy - M.M. Kurepina, A.P. Ozhigova, A.A. Nikitina 2010

Cardiovascular System
Vessels of the Pulmonary Circulation
Arteries

The pulmonary trunk, pulmonary arteries, and their branches form part of the Pulmonary Circulation; through them, venous Blood from the right ventricle of The Heart reaches the pulmonary capillaries (Atlas, Fig. 50).

The pulmonary trunk (truncus pulmonalis) (Atlas, Fig. 52) is classified as a muscular-elastic artery; it originates from the right ventricle at the level of the junction of the third left rib with the Sternum, ascends anterior to the aorta upward, to the left, and posteriorly, and divides beneath the aortic arch into the right and left pulmonary arteries (see Fig. 2.1). From the point of bifurcation to the Inferior surface of the aortic arch runs a short fibrous-muscular ligament—the obliterated fetal arterial duct. Upon reaching the hilum of the lung, the right artery divides into three branches and the left into two, corresponding to the number of lobes in the organ. Subsequently, the pulmonary arteries branch further into smaller vessels that mirror the branching of the Bronchi (Atlas, Fig. 201) and form a capillary network enveloping the alveoli.



Last update: 08/08/2026

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