A novel grading system for horizontal fissure of right lung based on cadaveric study of north indian population

Introduction: The right lung has two fissures, an oblique and a horizontal, dividing it into three lobes namely the upper, middle, and lower. The nature of the fissure is of great importance in planning operative strategy for thoracoscopic pulmonary resection where an incomplete fissure may contribute to post-operative air leakage
Aim: To assess the gross morphological features of right lung with special emphasis on the completeness of horizontal fissure.
Material & Method: Material for the present study comprised of right lungs obtained from 50 well embalmed adult human cadavers of both the sexes dissected as a part of 1st year MBBS curriculum in the Department of Anatomy, Govt. Medical College, Amritsar.
Results: Horizontal fissure was found to be complete in only 10% of the lungs while in rest 90% it was either incomplete or absent.
Conclusion: Inferable from the huge variation in nonappearance or partial appearance of horizontal fissure in the right lung and to the absence of an acceptable classification of fissures, an endeavor has been made to give one such classification. In like manner, the horizontal fissure is evaluated from Grade zero to IV contingent on its absence and profundity from costal surface to the hilum. Each evaluation is additionally divided into 3 subgrades relying on the culmination or incompleteness of these fissures with respect to their length.