Morphologic and arteriographic changes in the pulmonary vasculature in children with congenital heart disease.

This study was undertaken to determine the morphologic changes occurring in the pulmonary vasculature in congenital heart disease. Autopsy was performed in twenty cases of congenital heart disease ranging in age from newborn (full term) to 14 years. Postmortem arteriography was performed in most of them followed by histomorphometry. It was found that medial hypertrophy of the muscular pulmonary arteries was the most consistent change and the smallest muscular arteries were the most severely affected. The lesions were focal and randomly distributed. Hence, morphologic observations on open lung biopsies may not be accurate.