[A case of Pryce's type I intralobar pulmonary sequestration diagnosed by noninvasive techniques]

The patient was a female who came to our hospital with a chief complaint of hemoptysis. Radiography of the chest demonstrated a funicular shadow, and CT of the chest also revealed a similar shadow in contact with the thoracic aorta enhanced by the contrast material. Pulmonary arteriography and aortography showed that the left S8, S9 and S10 areas were supplied by abnormal blood vessels bifurcating from the thoracic aorta, rather than the pulmonary artery. This finding was supported by scintigraphy of the pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary RI angiography. Since bronchography revealed no obvious abnormality in the bronchial system, the diagnosis of Pryce's type I intralobar pulmonary sequestration was established, and left lower lobectomy was carried out. While the evidence of abnormal blood vessels is important for the definitive diagnosis of pulmonary sequestration, concurrent image processing of the results of scintigraphy of the pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary RI angiography permits noninvasive demonstration of the fact that the sequestral pulmonary tissue is regulated by the systemic circulatory system, rather than the pulmonary circulatory system and thus is a useful technique.