Inferior pulmonary ligament
The inferior pulmonary ligament (or just the pulmonary ligament) is a normal anatomical structure that is often seen on chest x-ray and CT chest.
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Gross anatomy
The inferior pulmonary ligament is a fused triangular-shaped sheet of parietal and visceral pleura that extends from the hilum to the dome of the hemidiaphragm. It extends from the mediastinum to the medial surface of the lower lobe and is extra-parenchymal to the lung. It exists to allow vascular enlargement of the hilar vessels in times of increased cardiac output.
Contents
- inferior pulmonary vein (at the apex) 1
- intrapulmonary lymph nodes 2
- bronchial veins 2
Radiographic features
CT
- thin, linear and predominantly midline hyperdensity that arises inferiorly to the hilum on lung windows 3
- most apparent at the level of the hemidiaphragm
- twice as commonly seen on the left than the right; evident in ~50% of patients 2, 3
Differential diagnosis
Related Radiopaedia articles
Anatomy: Thoracic
- thoracic skeleton
- thoracic cage
- thoracic spine
- articulations
- muscles of the thorax
- diaphragm
- intercostal space
- intercostal muscles
- variant anatomy
- spaces of the thorax
- thoracic viscera
- tracheobronchial tree
-
lungs
-
bronchopulmonary segmental anatomy (Boyden Classification) (mnemonic)
- left lung
- right lung
- variant anatomy
- lung parenchyma
- hilum
- pleura
-
bronchopulmonary segmental anatomy (Boyden Classification) (mnemonic)
-
heart
- cardiac chambers
- heart valves
- pectinate muscles
- cardiac fibrous skeleton
- coronary arteries
- innervation of the heart
- fetal circulation
-
pericardium
- pericardial space
- oblique pericardial sinus
- transverse pericardial sinus
-
pericardial recesses
- aortic recesses
- pulmonic recesses
- postcaval recess
- pulmonary venous recesses
- pericardial ligaments
- epicardial fat pad
- esophagus
- thymus
- breast
- blood supply of the thorax
- arteries
-
thoracic aorta (development)
- ascending aorta
- aortic arch
- aortic isthmus
- descending aorta
- pulmonary trunk
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thoracic aorta (development)
- veins
- superior vena cava (cavoatrial junction)
- inferior vena cava
-
coronary veins
- cardiac veins which drain into the coronary sinus
- great cardiac vein
- middle cardiac vein
- small cardiac vein
- posterior vein of the left ventricle
- vein of Marshall (oblique vein of the left atrium)
- anterior cardiac veins
- venae cordis minimae (smallest cardiac veins or thebesian veins)
- cardiac veins which drain into the coronary sinus
- pulmonary veins
- arteries
- lymphatics
- innervation of the thorax