Question

An inhaled foreign body more commonly lodges in the right main bronchus than the left. Which set of features of the right main bronchus BEST explains this tendency?

• A. It is wider, shorter and more vertical (in line with the trachea), and the right lung has three lobes
• B. It is narrower, longer and more horizontal, and the right lung has two lobes
• C. It is wider but more horizontal, and the right lung has two lobes
• D. It is narrower and more vertical, and the right lung has three lobes

Hint:

Which bronchus most nearly continues the straight line of the trachea?

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Compare the two main bronchi.
The right main (principal) bronchus differs from the left in three key ways: it is wider in calibre, shorter in length, and runs more vertically - that is, it is more nearly in a straight line with the trachea.

Step 2: Relate this to foreign body aspiration.
Because the right bronchus is wider and almost continues the line of the trachea, an aspirated foreign body or aspirated material tends to fall into the right bronchus and then into the right lung more often than the left. The left bronchus is narrower, longer and more horizontal, so it diverts material less readily.

Step 3: Lobar anatomy.
The right lung has three lobes (upper, middle, lower) separated by oblique and horizontal fissures, whereas the left lung has two lobes (upper and lower) plus the lingula. Aspirated material in the upright patient classically reaches the posterior or basal segments of the right lower lobe.

Key fact: The right main bronchus is wider, shorter, more vertical (straighter from the trachea), and the right lung has three lobes - explaining preferential right-sided aspiration.