Answer
The left lung is divided into two lobes, and the right lung has three lobes separated by fissures. These large divisions are further subdivided into smaller bronchopulmonary segments separated by connective tissue septa: the right lung has 10 bronchopulmonary segments (bps), and the left lung may have between eight and ten bps.
Each bps has its own arterial supply and its own venous drainage. In addition, each is supplied by its own tertiary (segmental) bronchiole. This semi-independence of the bps plus their connective tissue septal separation protects them from infections in adjacent segments.
Work Step by Step
Many pulmonary infections , for example, tuberculosis, tend to be confined to a few bronchopulmonary segments. This is fortunate, for it facilitates the surgical removal of the affected/infected segments of a lobe (bps) with minimal risk of injury to the uninvolved bps and with little accompanying loss of blood. Trauma to patient is reduced; healing time is shortened, and prognosis for return to full healthy functioning is usually better because of these features of lung anatomy,
