TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Nonembolic Disorders of the Pulmonary Artery A1 - Freihage, Jeffrey H. A1 - Dudney, Tina M. A1 - McCormack, Michael T. A2 - Dieter, Robert S. A2 - Dieter, Raymond A. A2 - Dieter, Raymond A. Y1 - 2009 N1 - T2 - Peripheral Arterial Disease AB - The pulmonary artery (PA) functions as a low resistance conduit for blood to travel from the right heart to the systemic circulation. However, to view the PA as a passive conduit is to underestimate the complex physiologic interactions between the neurohormonal control of vascular tone, environmental factors (including infectious agents, toxins, and prolonged hypoxia), and congenital abnormalities that may occur within the PA. An understanding of the normal PA physiology is of paramount importance in understanding the clinical course of pathologic disease states. Although the acute PA response to a congenital abnormality or an environmental insult may be beneficial in the short term, prolonged response may lead to a severely debilitating and life-shortening pathologic condition. Recognition of pathologic conditions within the PA and the role of altered PA physiology is the focus of this chapter. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1127169715 ER -