Increased Left Lung Consolidation in Turkey Cholera Related to Larger Left Pulmonary Artery

After necropsy of the surviving turkeys in a comparative vaccine study for fowl cholera, in the turkeys with only one lung lobe consolidated, a significantly (P < 0.01, chi square test) higher number of turkeys were found with a consolidation of the left lung lobe than with the right lung lobe. When the circumferences of the left and right pulmonary arteries 0.5 cm rostral from the bifurcation were measured and converted to cross-sectional area, the left pulmonary artery had an average area of 29.6 +/- 2.8 mm2, and the right pulmonary artery had an average area of only 22.9 +/- 2.8 mm2, which was nearly one-fourth smaller. This finding suggests that the left lung lobe receives more blood than the right lobe and that, during an acute Pasteurella multocida septicemia, it would receive more of this organism than the right lung lobe.