Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Weerakkody Y, Schmidt R, Czarniecki M, et al. Pulmonary arterial webs. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 13 Feb 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-25979
In thoracic imaging, a pulmonary arterial web is given to describe fibrotic bands which are delicate ribbonlike structures anchored to the vessel wall at two ends with a free unattached mid portion. Sometimes, the term ‘web’ is also used to describe a bands that have branches and form networks of varying complexity. This should not be confused with pulmonary artery banding which is a surgical technique to reduce pulmonary overcirculation in certain congenital heart diseases 4.
Pulmonary arterial webs are a late sequelae of chronic pulmonary thromboembolism.
Radigraphic features
CT - CTPA
There are typically seen as thin lines surrounded by contrast material. These bands generally range around 0.3-2 cm in length and from less than 0.1-0.3 cm in width 2. They are usually oriented along the direction of blood flow along the long axis of the vessel.
Webs are more often seen in the distal lobar or segmental arteries 5.
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1. Korn D, Gore I, Blenke A et-al. Pulmonary arterial bands and webs: an unrecognized manifestation of organized pulmonary emboli. Am. J. Pathol. 1998;40: 129-51. Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
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2. Wittram C, Kalra MK, Maher MM et-al. Acute and chronic pulmonary emboli: angiography-CT correlation. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2006;186 (6_supplement_2): S421-9. doi:10.2214/AJR.04.1955 - Pubmed citation
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3. Fedullo P, Kerr KM, Kim NH et-al. Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2011;183 (12): 1605-13. doi:10.1164/rccm.201011-1854CI - Pubmed citation
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4. Ghez O, Saeed I, Serrato M et-al. Surgical repair of pulmonary artery branches. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg. 2012;2013: mmt014. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg (full text) - doi:10.1093/mmcts/mms010 - Pubmed citation
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5. Han J, Xiang H, Ridley WE, Ridley LJ. Pulmonary artery webs: Chronic pulmonary thromboembolism. (2018) Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology. 62 Suppl 1: 38. doi:10.1111/1754-9485.25_12785 - Pubmed
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6. Ruggiero A, Imaging of acute and chronic thromboembolic disease: state of the art. (2017) Clinical radiology. doi:10.1016/j.crad.2017.02.011 - Pubmed
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