title: Pulmonary intersegmental planes: imaging appearance and possible reasons leading to their visualization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the normal imaging appearance of pulmonary intersegmental planes on thoracic computed tomographic (CT) scans and determine the possible reasons related to their visualization in terms of aging and anatomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was approved by the internal ethics review board. Informed consent was obtained. A retrospective review was undertaken of 104 thoracic multidetector CT scans of an older group (>65 years) and younger group (<55 years). The number, location, and appearance rate of intersegmental planes were assessed. Group comparisons were made, and linear regression analysis was used to assess relationships between age and visualization of intersegmental planes. Thirty lung samples (10 × 10 × 10 mm(3)) from autopsy were scanned by using micro-CT. Thicknesses of intersegmental planes were measured. Significant differences of the thickness between visible and invisible intersegmental planes were assessed with the independent t test. In five fetal specimens (17-21 weeks in gestational age), 7.0-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed to determine the congenital difference of thickness of intersegmental planes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within the right lung, appearance rates of visible intersegmental planes were 71.2% at S1-S3, 54.8% at S4-S5, and 70.2% at S7-S10. Within the left lung, appearance rates of visible intersegmental planes were 39.4% at S1+2 to S3, 64.4% at S4-S5, 18.3% at S7-S8, and 89.4% at S7-S10. Appearance rates of visible intersegmental planes on thoracic CT scans were not significantly different (P ≥ .38) between younger and older groups. Mean thicknesses of visible and invisible intersegmental planes were 681.3 μm ± 75.3 (standard deviation) and 221.7 μm ± 54.1, respectively. Visible intersegmental planes were significantly thicker than invisible intersegmental planes (P < .05). Visible intersegmental planes were also seen on fetal lung 7.0-T MR images.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The thickness of pulmonary intersegmental planes and variation of intersegmental veins were closely related to visualization of intersegmental planes on thoracic CT scans. Aging was excluded as the possible reason.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, 44 Wen-hua Xi Road, 250012 Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Zhi
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shu-Wei
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007472:Iohexol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016014:Linear Models; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D007472:Iohexol