[Anatomical study on the right bronchial artery for operation of esophageal cancer through right thoracotomy with special reference to the intercostobronchial arteries].

In view of the operative field of esophageal cancer, anatomical findings of the right bronchial arteries were studied in specimens of 71 cadavers. Intercostobronchial arteries were absent only in 3 cadavers (4.2%; group A). As 22.6% of the cadavers had only one intercostobronchial artery supplied as the right bronchial artery (group B), it was considered to be important to preserve this artery. Cadavers both with the intercostobronchial artery and with the other right bronchial-arteries were observed in 70.4% (group C). Right bronchial arteries deriving from the aorta to course similarly to intercostobronchial arteries were present in small number (group D). Further, right bronchial arteries were classified into three types according to the deriving arteries as follows: (I) intercostobronchial arteries, (II) bronchial arteries deriving from the aorta, (III) other right bronchial arteries deriving from right subclavian artery, right inferior thyroid artery or right interthoracic artery. Considering difficulty of the approach from the operative field with right thoracotomy and the anatomical relationship with neighboring organs, it was thought that preserving the type (I) arteries is easy, the type (III) has a possibility to be preserved, and (II) is hard to be preserved. We concluded that preserving intercostobronchial arteries is important in esophageal cancer surgery approached through right thoracotomy because of small number of cadavers without these arteries and ease of preservation.