Pulmonary artery
One of the two vessels which are formed as terminal branches of the pulmonary trunk and convey un-aerated blood to the lungs. The two pulmonary arteries differ in length and anatomy. The right pulmonary artery is the longer of the two. It passes transversely across the midline in the upper chest and passes below the aortic arch to enter the hilum of the right lung as part of its root. The left pulmonary artery is the shorter of the two terminal branches of the pulmonary trunk. It pierces the pericardium (the sac around the heart) and enters the hilum of the left lung.
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Also called a Swan-Ganz catheter. A light flexible balloon-tipped tube that is introduced into the pulmonary artery (the artery from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs). See; Catheter, Swann-Ganz.
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Damage to the lung from rapid or excessive pressure changes, as may occur when a patient is on a ventilator and is subjected to high airway pressure. Pulmonary barotrauma can also occur in scuba and other forms of diving.
- Pulmonary edema, high altitude
Known as HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), a condition in which there is accumulation in the lungs of extravascular fluid (fluid outside of blood vessels) at high altitude, a consequence of rapid altitude ascent, especially when that ascent is accompanied by significant exercise. HAPE leads to dyspnea (shortness of breath), cough, tachycardia (fast heart rate) […]
- Pulmonary embolism
Sudden closure of a pulmonary artery or one of its branches, caused by a blood-borne clot or foreign material that plugs the vessel.
- Pulmonary embolus
A blood clot or foreign material that has been carried through the blood into the pulmonary artery or one of its branches, plugging the vessel.