Spinal Arterial Blood Supply Does Not Arise from the Bronchial Arteries: A Detailed Analysis of Angiographic Studies Performed for Hemoptysis

Purpose To determine the angiographic prevalence of spinal arteries originating directly from the bronchial arteries in the setting of embolization for hemoptysis. Materials and Methods Over a 14-year interval, 205 patients underwent angiography for hemoptysis. Twenty-five patients were excluded because their bronchial arteries were not visualized. The remaining 180 patients underwent a total of 254 angiographic procedures (range, 1–8 per patient). Images were reviewed jointly by 2 interventional radiologists with formal fellowship training in both peripheral and neurological interventional radiology. All catheterized arteries were evaluated for arterial contribution to the spinal cord. For patients with multiple studies, each unique artery was reported only once. Embolization was performed during at least 1 procedure in 158 patients (88%). Electronic record review was used to assess neurological sequelae after the procedure. Results One or 2 bronchial arteries originating from the aorta were identified in 57 patients (32%) on the right and in 75 patients (42%) on the left. Conjoined bronchial arteries were found in 76 patients (42%). Spinal arterial supply was absent in all. A total of 102 patients (57%) had at least 1 right and 11 patients (6%) at least 1 left intercostobronchial artery. Spinal arterial supply from the intercostal portion of an intercostobronchial artery was found in 6 patients (5 right, 1 left). Medical record review revealed no postprocedure symptoms referable to spinal cord injury in any patient. Conclusions Spinal arterial supply does not originate directly from the bronchial artery but can originate from the intercostal portion of an intercostobronchial artery.