Right middle lobe bronchus

Lobar bronchi · 2 segments Lymph-node collar

A long, narrow bronchus leaving the anterior wall of the bronchus intermedius at an acute angle, roughly opposite the superior segmental bronchus of the lower lobe, and dividing into lateral and medial segmental bronchi. A collar of lymph nodes surrounds its origin.

Traced from the start

  1. Trachea
  2. Right main bronchus
  3. Right middle lobe bronchus

Detail

Origin
Anterolateral wall of the bronchus intermedius, opposite or just above the superior segmental bronchus of the lower lobe
Branches
Lateral and medial segmental bronchi
Vulnerability
Long, narrow, acute take-off, ringed by lymph nodes and with the poorest drainage of any lobe; the lingula is its left-sided homologue

When it goes wrong

Enlarged peribronchial lymph nodes (tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, non-tuberculous mycobacteria) compressing the narrow bronchus

Middle lobe syndrome: recurrent or fixed right middle lobe atelectasis, chronic cough, recurrent pneumonia and eventually bronchiectasis

Right middle lobe collapse or consolidation

Loss of the right heart border silhouette on the PA film with a preserved right hemidiaphragm; wedge-shaped density over the heart on the lateral

Practise this structure

No question in the bank is tagged to Right middle lobe bronchus yet. Questions appear here automatically once one is — the question bank is free to browse in the meantime.