Pulmonary arteries and veins

Anatomy

Embryologically, the pulmonary arteries originate from the truncus arteriosus (as does the aorta).

Function

While veins usually carry deoxygenated blood from tissues back to the heart, in this case, pulmonary veins are among the few veins that carry oxygenated blood instead. Oxygenated blood from the lungs is circulated back to the heart through the pulmonary veins that drain into the left atrium. Once blood is pumped from the left atrium through the mitral valve into the left ventricle, this oxygenated blood will then be pumped from the left ventricle through the aortic valve to the rest of the body’s organs and tissues through the aorta.

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Deoxygenated blood that has circulated through the system will be collected from the superior vena cava and inferior vena cava, which drain into the right atrium of the heart. Once deoxygenated blood is pumped from the right atrium through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle, contraction of the right ventricle will push blood through the pulmonic valve into the pulmonary artery that will carry deoxygenated blood to the lungs. Within the lungs, the blood passes through capillaries adjacent to alveoli and becomes oxygenated through respiration (breathing). Branches of the pulmonary artery travel closely alongside the bronchial tree on their way to the alveoli. However, the bronchial tree itself is supplied by the bronchial artery, which arises from the aorta and carries systemic blood. Each alveolus is surrounded by a nest of blood capillaries that are supplied by small branches of the pulmonary artery.

Check the following study units to learn more about the pulmonary arteries and veins and their relation to the hilum of the lungs and the heart. 

In summary, the pulmonary circuit begins with the pulmonary trunk, which is a large vessel that ascends diagonally from the right ventricle and branches into the right and left pulmonary arteries. As the circuit approaches the lung, the right pulmonary artery branches into two arteries and both branches enter the lung at a medial indentation called the hilum of the lung. The upper branch is the superior lobar artery, which feeds into the superior lobe of the lung. The lower branch divides again within the lung to form the middle lobar and inferior lobar arteries that supply the lower 2 lobes of the lung since there are 3 lobes of the right lung. The left pulmonary artery is more variable in number and gives off several superior lobar arteries that feed into the superior lobe before entering the hilum of the lung to branch off into inferior lobar arteries that feed the left lower lung lobe.

Are you curious to find out more about the anatomy of the pulmonary arteries and veins and a condition called pulmonary embolism?

Histology of the arteries and veins

Large veins have diameters greater than 10 mm. They have some smooth muscle in all three tunics. They have a relatively thin tunica media with only a moderate amount of smooth muscle; the tunica externa is the thickest layer and contains longitudinal bundles of smooth muscle.

Large veins include the venae cavae, pulmonary veins, internal jugular veins, and renal veins. Since the pressure of the pulmonary veins cannot be easily measured, the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure is used instead, and the normal range is 2-15 mmHg. The pulmonary arteries have thin distensible walls with less elastic tissue than the systemic arteries. Thus, they have a blood pressure range of 15-30 mmHg systolic, and 4-12 mmHg diastolic.