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Purpose: The objectives of this study were to evaluate various branching patterns of segmental bronchi in the left superior and lingular lobes and to survey the anatomical diversity and sex-related differences of these branches in a large sample of the study population. Materials and methods: Overall, 10,000 participants (5428 males, and 4572 females, mean age 50 ± 13.5 years [SD] years; age range: 3–91 years) who underwent multi-slice CT (MSCT) scans between September 2019 and December 2021 were retrospectively included. Using the syngo.via post-processing workstation, the data were applied to generate three-dimensional (3D) and virtual bronchoscopy (VB) simulations of a bronchial tree. The reconstructed images were then interpreted to identify and categorize distinct bronchial patterns in the left superior and lingular lobes. Cross-tabulation analysis and the Pearson Chi-square (χ2) test were used to calculate the constituent ratios of bronchial branch types and determine their significance between male and female groups. Results: Our results revealed mainly four distinct types for the left superior lobe (LSL) bronchial tree, i.e., (B1 + 2, B3, 76.13%); (B1 + 2 + 3, 17.32%); (B1 + 3, B2, 5.74%); (B1a + B3, B1b + B2, 0.81%) and two types for the left lingular lobe (LLL) bronchial tree, i.e., (B4, B5, 91.05%); (B4, B5, B*, 8.95%). There were no significant sex-related differences in the proportion of bronchial branches in LLL (P > 0.05). However, sex-related differences were significant in the proportion of bronchial branches in LSL (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The current study has validated the presence of segmental bronchial variations in the left superior and lingular lobes. These findings may have a crucial effect on the diagnosis of symptomatic patients, as well as in carrying out procedures such as lung resections, endotracheal intubation, and bronchoscopies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the various branching patterns of segmental bronchi in the right middle lobe (RML) and to survey the anatomical diversity and sex-related differences of these branches in a large sample of the study population. Materials and methods: In this retrospective board-approved study with informed consent, 10,000 participants (5428 males and 4,572 females, mean age 50 ± 13.5 years [SD]; age range: 3–91 years) who underwent multi-slice CT (MSCT) scans from September 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively included. The data were applied to generate three-dimensional (3D) and virtual bronchoscopy (VB) simulations of a bronchial tree using the syngo.via post-processing workstation. The reconstructed images were then interpreted to locate and classify distinct bronchial patterns in the RML. Cross-tabulation analysis and the Pearson chi-square test were used to calculate the constituent ratios of bronchial branch types and determine their significance between male and female groups. Results: Our results revealed that the segmental bronchial ramifications of the RML were classified into two types mainly, i.e., bifurcation (B4, B5, 91.42%) and trifurcation (B4, B5, B*, 8.58%). There were no significant sex-related differences in the proportion of bronchial branches in the RML (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The current study has confirmed the presence of segmental bronchial variations in the RML lobe using 3D reconstruction and virtual bronchoscopy. These findings may have significant implications for the diagnosis of symptomatic patients and for carrying out specific procedures like bronchoscopy, endotracheal intubation, and lung resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]