Cardiopulmonary Anatomy

Pulmonary emboli (PE) originate as peripheral deep venous thrombi (DVT) which migrate to the heart and lungs. Understanding the peripheral venous anatomy as well as the major central venous pathways through which thrombi pass before they reach the cardiopulmonary system is critical for screening, identifying patients at increased risk of PE, and for fully evaluating the extent of clot burden, such as residual DVT and/or clot-in-transit. Furthermore, knowledge of pulmonary vascular anatomy can aid in reconciling symptom presentation with embolic locations (e.g., upper versus lower lobes, main versus lobar versus subsegmental vessels), which is particularly important when evaluating more complex patients with confounding comorbid conditions.