Origin, distribution, and blood flow of bronchial circulation in anesthetized sheep.

This anatomical-physiological study was undertaken to determine the suitability of the sheep for studies of the bronchial circulation. We designated the terminal portion of the bronchoesophageal artery, which runs to the trachea at the carina, as the "carinal" artery. Postmortem injections of india ink (9 sheep) and Batson's solution (4 sheep) into the carinal artery showed that the carinal artery supplied the bronchi of all lobes except the right apical lobe; the mass of the lung containing bronchi perfused represented 88 +/- 1% of total lung mass. Communications were also found between branches of the carinal artery and branches of the systemic arteries supplying the visceral pleura. In three of six sheep, the carinal artery wedge pressure measured in vivo indicated that patent collaterals were present, but that their incidence is variable. In additional postmortem casts of the aorta made in four sheep after ligation of the carinal artery, the bronchial microcirculation was not entered by the perfusing medium. These data indicate that the collaterals do not contribute significantly to bronchial blood flow and that the carinal artery is the major source of bronchial blood flow in the sheep. In 19 sheep, carinal artery flow, measured electromagnetically, was 0.46 +2- 0.09 ml . min-1 . kg body wt-1. Bronchial blood flow normalized for the weight of the lobes in which bronchi perfused by the carinal artery were located was 3.97 +/- 0.48 ml . min-1 . 100 g lung-1 (n = 11); carinal artery blood flow was 0.39 +/- 0.03% of cardiac output (n = 5). During the 90 min of observation, at normal aortic blood pressure (103 +/- 3.4 Torr), carinal artery blood flow was stable. In conclusion, determination of carinal artery blood flow affords a reliable approach to the bronchial circulation in the sheep.