The bronchial tree and lobular division of the horse lung

The lungs of five horses were examined. At present, in veterinary anatomy, the horse lung is divided into the cranial and caudal lobes by the cardiac notch on either side. In addition to these lobes, in the right lung, the accessory lobe is present. However, from the viewpoint of the bronchial ramifications, the horse lung can be divided into the cranial, middle, caudal and accessory lobes bilaterally. The horse lung has four bronchiole systems on either side, dorsal, lateral, ventral and medial. The cranial lobe is formed by the first bronchiole of the dorsal bronchiole system. The middle lobe is formed by the first bronchiole of the lateral bronchiole system. The accessory lobe is formed by the first bronchiole of the ventral bronchiole system. The remaining bronchioles of the dorsal, lateral and ventral bronchiole systems and all bronchioles of the medial bronchiole system constitute the caudal lobe. These features were compared with those of the lungs of other domestic animals.