Abstract
One hundred and six cases of internal thoracic arteriography were performed in the Department of Radiology, First Hospital Nippon Medical School. The radio-anatomical analyses of 22 cases on both side lesions were performed. The angiographic studies were performed on 12 cases of mediastinal tumors, 6 cases of primary lung cancers and 7 cases of breast diseases out of 62 cases. On both sides, the internal thoracic artery was positioned and tended to project to the anterior thoracic wall against the body axis.
The angle was rather less among younger patients and greater as the age increased. The first branch of both right and left sides was classified as follows:
Type I: Thymic branch (right... 30%, left... 40%)
Type II: Pericardiacophrenic artery (right... 35%, left... 25%)
Type III: Thymo-pericardiacophrenic trunk (right and left... 35%)
The thymic branch was always demonstrated in thymic disease as well as other mediastinal tumors. However, no distinct correlation was established between the abnormal distribution of the thymic branch and pathological lesions.
The arterial trees which supplied to the thymoma were the thymic branch and pericardiacophrenic artery. Similar vascular distribution of the malignant tumor was also noted even in the benign thymoma.
The pericardiacophrenic artery was distributed in the mediastinal space regardless of pericardial disease and it demonstrated similar vascular distribution to the thymic branch.
The vascular pattern of malignant lymphoma showed a similar pattern as the thymic branch or a slightly intensified pattern such as the pericardiacophrenic artery.
In the cystosarcoma phylloides, the mammarian branch was dilated with tortuosity in its course, accompanying with high degree of neovascularity. The vascular pattern of this disease entity showed an obvious malignant tumor pattern, in spite of the fact that the pathological diagnosis disclosed rather benign behavior. The accessory bronchial artery was demonstrated in 2 cases out of the 106 cases, which were cases of lung cancer invading the mediastinal space. This fact emphasizes the necessity of internal thoracic arteriography in confirming the diagnosis of lung cancer.
