Determining the cross-sectional segmental anatomy of cadaveric human lungs.

An investigation of the complex boundaries between adjacent lobes and segments in human cadaveric lungs was undertaken to provide information for the later construction of a three-dimensional model of the segmental and subsegmental anatomy of the human lungs. This was performed by analyzing scanned cross-sections of the lungs after color-coded gelatin had been injected into segmental bronchi and the lungs embedded in gelatin and frozen. The resulting images provided information regarding the pattern of boundaries present between both lobes and segments. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.