Lung fissures
{"favouriteUrl":"/articles/lung-fissures/add_favourite?lang=us","favouriteId":22241,"favouriteKind":"article","loginUrl":"/sessions/new?lang=us\u0026return_to=%2Farticles%2Flung-fissures%3Flang%3Dus","unfavouriteUrl":"/articles/lung-fissures/remove_favourite?lang=us"}
{"favouriteUrl":"/articles/lung-fissures/add_favourite?lang=us","favouriteId":22241,"favouriteKind":"article","loginUrl":"/sessions/new?lang=us\u0026return_to=%2Farticles%2Flung-fissures%3Flang%3Dus","unfavouriteUrl":"/articles/lung-fissures/remove_favourite?lang=us"}
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Knipe H, Yap J, Kearns C, et al. Lung fissures. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 27 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-22241
Permalink:
rID:
22241
Article created:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosures
Last revised:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:
- Micro-X Ltd, Shareholder (past)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosures
Revisions:
17 times, by
11 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- Pulmonary fissures
- Pulmonary fissure
- Lung fissure
- Fissures of the lung
- Fissures of the lungs
- Pleural fissures
- Pleural fissure
Lung fissures are double-folds of visceral pleura that either completely or incompletely invaginate lung parenchyma to form the lung lobes.
On this page:
Article:
Images:
Images:
Gross anatomy
Each lung has an oblique fissure, also known as the major fissure, that separates the upper lobes from the lower lobes. It extends from the level of the T4/T5 vertebrae posterosuperiorly to the hemidiaphragms anteroinferiorly and is gently undulating in nature. The left oblique fissure has a more vertical course than the right oblique fissure 2.
The horizontal fissure, also known as the minor fissure or transverse fissure, is found in the right lung and separates the right upper and middle lobes. It runs horizontally at the right 4th costal cartilage level from the hilum to the anterior and lateral surfaces of the right lung.
Variant anatomy
-
incomplete fissures
horizontal fissure is incomplete in two-thirds of people and absent in 10% 2
allows for interlobar collateral ventilation, which is relevant in some emphysema treatments 3
numerous accessory fissures that mainly separate bronchopulmonary segments 3
See also
References
- 1. Hayashi K, Aziz A, Ashizawa K, Hayashi H, Nagaoki K, Otsuji H. Radiographic and CT Appearances of the Major Fissures. Radiographics. 2001;21(4):861-74. doi:10.1148/radiographics.21.4.g01jl24861 - Pubmed
- 2. Stephanie Ryan, Michelle McNicholas, Stephen J. Eustace. Anatomy for Diagnostic Imaging. (2011) Page 125. ISBN: 9780702029714 - Google Books
- 3. Bankier A, MacMahon H, Colby T et al. Fleischner Society: Glossary of Terms for Thoracic Imaging. Radiology. 2024;310(2):e232558. doi:10.1148/radiol.232558 - Pubmed
Incoming Links
Articles:
- Pleura
- Pulmonary emphysema
- Azygos lobe
- Right lung
- Lung architectural distortion
- PISAPED criteria for diagnosis of pulmonary embolus
- Lung
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Situs solitus
- Sarcoidosis (thoracic manifestations)
- Left lung
- Pulmonary pseudotumour
- Pleural pseudotumour
- Transfissural pulmonary disease
Related articles: Chest
- imaging techniques
-
chest radiograph
- radiography
-
approach
- ABCDE
- ABCDEFGHI
- congenital heart disease
- medical devices in the thorax
- common lines and tubes
- nasogastric tubes
- endotracheal tubes
- central venous catheters
- esophageal temperature probe
- tracheostomy tube
- pleural catheters
- cardiac conduction devices
- prosthetic heart valve
- review areas
-
airspace opacification
- differential diagnoses of airspace opacification
- lobar consolidation
-
atelectasis
- mechanism-based
- morphology-based
- lobar lung collapse
- chest x-ray in the exam setting
- cardiomediastinal contour
- chest radiograph zones
- tracheal air column
- fissures
- normal chest x-ray appearance of the diaphragm
- nipple shadow
-
lines and stripes
- anterior junction line
- posterior junction line
- right paratracheal stripe
- left paratracheal stripe
- posterior tracheal stripe/tracheo-esophageal stripe
- posterior wall of bronchus intermedius
- right paraspinal line
- left paraspinal line
- aortic-pulmonary stripe
- aortopulmonary window
- azygo-esophageal recess
- spaces
- signs
- air bronchogram
- big rib sign
- Chang sign
- Chen sign
- coin lesion
- continuous diaphragm sign
- dense hilum sign
- double contour sign
- egg-on-a-string sign
- extrapleural sign
- finger in glove sign
- flat waist sign
- Fleischner sign
- ginkgo leaf sign
- Golden S sign
- Hampton hump
- haystack sign
- hilum convergence sign
- hilum overlay sign
- Hoffman-Rigler sign
- holly leaf sign
- incomplete border sign
- juxtaphrenic peak sign
- Kirklin sign
- medial stripe sign
- melting ice cube sign
- more black sign
- Naclerio V sign
- Palla sign
- pericardial fat tag sign
- Shmoo sign
- silhouette sign
- snowman sign
- spinnaker sign
- steeple sign
- straight left heart border sign
- third mogul sign
- tram-track sign
- walking man sign
- water bottle sign
- wave sign
- Westermark sign
- HRCT
-
chest radiograph
- airways
- bronchitis
- small airways disease
-
bronchiectasis
- broncho-arterial ratio
- related conditions
- differentials by distribution
- narrowing
-
tracheal stenosis
- diffuse tracheal narrowing (differential)
-
bronchial stenosis
- diffuse airway narrowing (differential)
-
tracheal stenosis
- diverticula
- pulmonary edema
-
interstitial lung disease (ILD)
- Anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive interstitial lung disease
- drug-induced interstitial lung disease
-
hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- acute hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- etiology
- bird fancier's lung: pigeon fancier's lung
- farmer's lung
- cheese workers' lung
- bagassosis
- mushroom worker’s lung
- malt worker’s lung
- maple bark disease
- hot tub lung
- wine maker’s lung
- woodsman’s disease
- thatched roof lung
- tobacco grower’s lung
- potato riddler’s lung
- summer-type pneumonitis
- dry rot lung
- machine operator’s lung
- humidifier lung
- shower curtain disease
- furrier’s lung
- miller’s lung
- lycoperdonosis
- saxophone lung
-
idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (mnemonic)
- acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP)
- cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP)
- desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP)
- non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP)
- idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis
- lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP)
- respiratory bronchiolitis–associated interstitial lung disease (RB-ILD)
- usual interstitial pneumonia / idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (UIP/IPF)
-
pneumoconioses
- fibrotic
- non-fibrotic
-
lung cancer
-
non-small-cell lung cancer
-
adenocarcinoma
- pre-invasive tumors
- minimally invasive tumors
- invasive tumors
- variants of invasive carcinoma
- described imaging features
- adenosquamous carcinoma
- large cell carcinoma
- primary sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung
- squamous cell carcinoma
- salivary gland-type tumors
-
adenocarcinoma
- pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors
- preinvasive lesions
-
lung cancer invasion patterns
- tumor spread through air spaces (STAS)
- presence of non-lepidic patterns such as acinar, papillary, solid, or micropapillary
- myofibroblastic stroma associated with invasive tumor cells
- pleural invasion
- vascular invasion
- tumors by location
- benign neoplasms
- pulmonary metastases
- lung cancer screening
- lung cancer staging
-
non-small-cell lung cancer
Related articles: Anatomy: Thoracic
- thoracic skeleton
- thoracic cage
- thoracic spine
- articulations
- muscles of the thorax
- diaphragm
- intercostal space
- intercostal muscles
- variant anatomy
- spaces of the thorax
- thoracic viscera
- lower respiratory tract
-
heart
- cardiac chambers
- heart valves
- cardiac fibrous skeleton
- innervation of the heart
- development of the heart
- cardiac wall
-
pericardium
- epicardium
- epicardial fat pad
- pericardial space
- oblique pericardial sinus
- transverse pericardial sinus
-
pericardial recesses
- aortic recesses
- pulmonic recesses
- postcaval recess
- pulmonary venous recesses
- pericardial ligaments
- myocardium
- endocardium
-
pericardium
- esophagus
- thymus
- breast
- arterial supply of the thorax
-
thoracic aorta (development)
-
ascending aorta
-
aortic root
- aortic annulus
-
coronary arteries
- coronary arterial dominance
- myocardial segments
-
left main coronary artery (LMCA)
- ramus intermedius artery (RI)
-
circumflex artery (LCx)
- obtuse marginal branches (OM1, OM2, etc))
- Kugel's artery
-
left anterior descending artery (LAD)
- diagonal branches (D1, D2, etc)
- septal perforators (S1, S2, etc)
-
right coronary artery (RCA)
- conus artery
- sinoatrial nodal artery
- acute marginal branches (AM1, AM2, etc)
- inferior interventricular artery (PDA)
- posterior left ventricular artery (PLV)
- congenital anomalies
- sinotubular junction
-
aortic root
- aortic arch
- aortic isthmus
- descending aorta
-
ascending aorta
- pulmonary trunk
-
thoracic aorta (development)
- venous drainage of the thorax
- superior vena cava (SVC)
- inferior vena cava (IVC)
-
coronary veins
-
cardiac veins which drain into the coronary sinus
- great cardiac vein
- middle cardiac vein
- small cardiac vein
- posterior vein of the left ventricle
- vein of Marshall (oblique vein of the left atrium)
- anterior cardiac veins
- venae cordis minimae (smallest cardiac veins or thebesian veins)
-
cardiac veins which drain into the coronary sinus
- pulmonary veins
- bronchial veins
- thoracoepigastric vein
- lymphatics of the thorax
- innervation of the thorax
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.