Morphometry of Cat’s Pulmonary Arterial Tree

Abstract

Morphometic data of the pulmonary artery in the cat’s right lung are presented. Silicone elastomer casts of cat’s right lung were made, and measured, counted and analyzed. The Strahler system is used to describe the branching pattern of the arterial vascular tree. These data are needed for any quantitative approach to the study of the pulmonary circulation. For all the pulmonary blood vessels of the cat lying between the main pulmonary artery and the capillary beds, there are a total of 10 orders of vessels in the right upper lobe, 9 orders of vessels in the right middle lobe and 11 orders of vessels in the right lower lobe. The ratio of the number of branches in successive orders of vessels or the branching ratio, is 3.58. The corresponding average diameter ratio is 1.72, whereas the average length ratio is 1.81.