Brônquio traqueal: revisão de 17 casos

SUMMARYThe tracheal bronchus is an anatomical anomaly of the tracheobronchial tree, often without clinical significance. However, the bronchologist must know it and its importance is dependent of the existence of related clinical sintoms.In most of the cases the tracheal bronchus is located in the lower third of the right wall of the trachea. The diagnostic can be made by bronchoscopy but its correct caracterization needs a bronchography.There are three main anatomical forms of tracheal bronchus:1.a supranumeric bronchus in relation with normal or abnormal lung tissue2.the right apical segment direclty branched from the trachea3.a displaced right upper lobar bronchusWe revised 17 cases of tracheal bronchus diagnosed at the Bronchology Unit of Centro Hospitalar de Gaia between 1986 and 1992, for a total of 9476 bronchoscopic examinations what means an incidence of 2.79 for each 1000 bronchoscopies.All the tracheal bronchus diagnosed were located in the right lung, begining at the lower third of the right wall of the trachea. In 7 cases it was a supranumeric bronchus. In 9 cases the right apical segment was supplied by a tracheal bronchus and in 1 case the tracheal bronchus was a displaced right upper lobe bronchus. In all these cases the tracheal bronchus was an accidental finding with no relation with the simptoms that lead to broncoscopy