Inferior pulmonary ligament

Last revised by Dr Ayla Al Kabbani ◉ on 12 Feb 2021

Citation, DOI and article data

Citation:

Knipe, H., Al Kabbani, A. Inferior pulmonary ligament. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org. (accessed on 07 Dec 2021) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-29850

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-29850

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/29850

rID:

29850

Article created:

27 Jun 2014 by Dr Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Revisions:

7 times by 4 users - see full revision history

System:

Chest

Section:

Anatomy

Tag:

chest x-ray

Synonyms:

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.

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.

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}